Division. 
Section.^ 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
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BY  MONCURE  D.  CONWAY 


Omitted  Chapters  of  History,  Disclosed  in  the  Life 

and  Papers  of  Edmund  Randolph. — By  Moncure 

D.  Conway.    With  portrait,  8vo       -      -       -   $3  oo 

"Mr.  Conway  is  a  thorough  student,  a  careful  thinker,  and  an 
exact  writer,  and  in  this  bool£  he  has  produced  an  admirable  mono- 
graph."— Book  Buyer. 

The  Life  of  Thomas  Paine. — By  Moncure  D.  Con- 
way, author  of  "  Omitted  Chapters  of  History,  Dis- 
closed in  the  Life  and  Papers  of  Edmund  Randolph." 
2  volumes,  8vo.    Illustrated        -       -       -       -    $5  00 

"  Biographical  labors  of  this  class  are  not  too  common  in  these 
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They  make  up  a  storehouse  of  facts  from  which  alone  any  true 
estimate  can  be  formed  of  the  life  of  Paine.    .    .   ." — N,  Y.  Times. 

The  Writings  of  Thomas  Paine — Political,  Sociological, 
Religious,  and  Literary.  Edited  by  Moncure  D.  Con- 
way, V(fith  introduction  and  notes.  To  be  complete 
in  four  volumes,  uniform  with  Mr.  Conway's  "  Life  of 
Paine."    Price  per  volume  -       -       -       -       -    $2  50 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  New  York  &  London. 


THE  WRITINGS 


OF 

THOMAS  PAINE 

COLLECTED  AND  EDITED  BY 

MONCURE  DANIEL  CONWAY 

AUTHOR  OF  "  THE  LIFE  OF   THOMAS    PAINE,"  "  OMITTED  CHAPTERS  OF  HISTORV 
DISCLOSED  IN  THE  LIFE  AND   PAPERS  OF  EDMUND  RANDOLPH," 
"GEORGE  WASHINGTON  AND  MOUNT  VERNON,"  ETC. 


VOLUME  1. 
1774-1779 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW   YORK  LONDON 

27   WEST  TWENTY-THIRD   STREET  24.  BEDFORD  STREET,  STRAND 

J^ititkErbockcr  '^ress 
1894 


COPYRIGHT,  i8g4 

BY  G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

Entered  at  Stationers'  Hall,  London 
By  G.  p.  Putnam's  Sons 


Electrotyped.  Printed  and  Bound  by 

Ube  Iknfcfecrbocficr  preBS,  mew  Igotft 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

Introduction   v 

Prefatory  Note  to  Paine's  First  Essay       .       .  i 

I. — African  Slavery  in  America    ....  4 
II. — A  Dialogue  between   General  Wolfe  and 

General  Gage  in  a  Wood  near  Boston       .  10 

III.  — The  Magazine  in  America   14 

IV,  — Useful  and  Entertaining  Hints     ...  20 
v. — New  Anecdotes  of  Alexander  the  Great     .  26 

VI. — Reflections  on  the  Life  and  Death  of  Lord 

Clive   29 

VII. — Cupid  and  Hymen   36 

VIII. — Duelling   40 

IX. — Reflections  on  Titles   46 

X. — The  Dream  Interpreted   48 

XI. — Reflections  on  Unhappy  Marriages       .       .  51 

XII. — Thoughts  on  Defensive  War    ....  55 

XIII.  — An  Occasional  Letter  on  the  Female  Sex    .  59 

XIV.  — A  Serious  Thought   65 

XV. — Common  Sense   67 

XVI. — Epistle  to  Quakers   121 

XVII. — The  Forester's  Letters   127 

iii 


iv 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE 

XVIII —A  Dialogue   i6i 

XIX. — The  American  Crisis   i68 

XX. — Retreat  across  the  Delaware       .       .       .  381 

XXI. — Letter  to  Franklin,  in  Paris  ....  384 

XXII. — The  Affair  of  Silas  Deane      ....  395 

XXIII.  — To  the  Public  on  Mr.  Deane's  Affair    .       .  409 

XXIV.  — Messrs.  Deane,  Jay,  and  Gerard     .      .      .  438 


INTRODUCTION. 


No  apology  is  needed  for  an  edition  of  Thomas  Paine's 
writings,  but  rather  for  the  tardiness  of  its  appearance.  For 
although  there  have  been  laborious  and  useful  collections  of 
his  more  famous  works,  none  of  them  can  be  fairly  described 
as  adequate.  The  compilers  have  failed  to  discover  many 
characteristic  essays,  they  printed  from  imperfect  texts,  and 
were  unable  to  find  competent  publishers  courageous  enough 
to  issue  in  suitable  form  the  Works  of  Paine.  It  is  not  credit- 
able that  the  world  has  had  to  wait  so  long  for  a  complete 
edition  of  writings  which  excited  the  gratitude  and  admira- 
tion of  the  founders  of  republican  liberty  in  America  and 
Europe ;  nevertheless  those  writings,  so  far  as  accessible, 
have  been  read  and  pondered  by  multitudes,  and  are  to-day 
in  large  and  increasing  demand. 

This  indeed  is  not  wonderful.  Time,  which  destroys  much 
literature,  more  slowly  overtakes  that  which  was  inspired  by 
any  great  human  cause.  "  It  was  the  cause  of  America  that 
made  me  an  author,"  wrote  Paine  at  the  close  of  the  Ameri- 
can Revolution  ;  and  in  the  preface  to  his  first  pamphlet  he 
had  said  :  "  The  cause  of  America  is  in  a  great  measure  the 
cause  of  all  mankind."  In  the  presence  of  such  great  argu- 
ment he  made  no  account  of  the  poems  and  magazine  essays 
published  before  the  appearance  of  his  first  pamphlet,  "  Com- 
mon Sense," — the  earliest  plea  for  an  independent  American 
Republic.  The  magazine  essays,  which  are  printed  in  this 
volume,  and  the  poems,  reserved  for  the  last,  while  they 
prove  Paine's  literary  ability,  also  reveal  in  him  an  over- 
powering moral  sentiment  and  human  sympathy  which  must 
necessarily  make  his  literary  art  their  organ.    Paine  knew 


vi 


INTRODUCTION. 


the  secret  of  good  writing.  In  criticising  a  passage  from  the 
Abb6  Raynal's  "  Revolution  of  America  "  he  writes  : 

"  In  this  paragraph  the  conception  is  lofty,  and  the  expression 
elegant  ;  but  the  colouring  is  too  high  for  the  original,  and  the 
likeness  fails  through  an  excess  of  graces.  To  fit  the  powers  of 
thinking  and  the  turn  of  language  to  the  subject,  so  as  to  bring 
out  a  clear  conclusion  that  shall  hit  the  point  in  question,  and 
nothing  else,  is  the  true  criterion  of  writing.  But  the  greater  part 
of  the  Abbe's  writings  (if  he  will  pardon  me  the  remark)  appear 
to  me  un central,  and  burthened  with  variety.  They  represent  a 
beautiful  wilderness  without  paths  ;  in  which  the  eye  is  diverted 
by  every  thing,  without  being  particularly  directed  to  any  thing  ; 
and  in  which  it  is  agreeable  to  be  lost,  and  difficult  to  find  the 
way  out." 

One  cannot  but  wonder  how  Paine  acquired  his  literary 
equipment,  almost  as  complete  in  his  first  work  as  in  his  last. 
In  his  thirty-second  year,  when  exciseman  at  Lewes,  he  made 
on  the  intelligent  gentlemen  of  the  White  Hart  Club  an  im- 
pression which  led  one  of  them,  Mr.  Lee,  to  apostrophize  him 
in  such  lines  as  these  : 

"  Thy  logic  vanquish'd  error,  and  thy  mind 

No  bounds  but  those  of  right  and  truth  confined. 
Thy  soul  of  fire  must  sure  ascend  the  sky, 
Immortal  Paine,  thy  fame  can  never  die." 

This  was  written  of  a  man  who  had  never  published  a 
word,  and  who,  outside  his  club,  was  one  of  the  poorest  and 
most  obscure  men  in  England.  He  must  in  some  way  have 
presently  gained  reputation  for  superior  intelligence  among 
his  fellow-excisemen,  who  appointed  him  to  write  their  plea 
to  Parliament  for  an  increase  of  salary.  This  document, 
printed  but  not  published  in  1772  (reserved  for  an  appendix 
to  our  last  volume),  is  written  in  the  lucid  and  simple  style 
characteristic  of  all  Paine's  works, — "  hitting  the  point  in 
question  and  nothing  else."  But  with  all  of  this  power  he 
would  appear  to  have  been  without  literary  ambition,  and 


INTRODUCTION. 


vii 


writes  to  Goldsmith :  "  It  is  my  first  and  only  attempt,  and 
even  now  I  should  not  have  undertaken  it  had  I  not  been 
particularly  applied  to  by  some  of  my  superiors  in  office." 
Such,  when  nearly  thirty-six,  was  the  man  who  three  years 
later  published  in  America  the  book  which  made  as  much 
history  as  any  ever  written. 

These  facts  suggest  some  explanation  of  the  effectiveness 
of  Paine's  work.  Possessed  of  a  style  which,  as  Edmund 
Randolph  said,  insinuated  itself  into  the  hearts  of  learned 
and  unlearned,  he  wrote  not  for  the  sake  of  writing,  penned 
no  word  for  personal  fame,  cared  not  for  the  morrow  of  his 
own  reputation.  His  Quaker  forerunner,  George  Fox,  was 
never  more  surrendered  to  the  moving  spirit  of  the  moment. 
Absorbed  in  the  point  to  be  carried,  discarding  all  rhetoric 
that  did  not  feather  his  arrow,  dealing  with  every  detail  as 
well  as  largest  events  and  principles,  his  works  are  now  in- 
valuable to  the  student  of  American  history.  In  them  the 
course  of  political  events  from  1774  to  1787  may  be  followed 
almost  from  hour  to  hour,  and  even  his  military  narratives 
are  of  great  importance.  Previous  editors  of  Paine's  works, 
concerned  mainly  with  his  theories,  have  overlooked  many 
of  these  occasional  writings  ;  but  the  historian,  for  whom 
such  occasions  are  never  past,  will  find  in  these  recovered 
writings  testimony  all  the  more  valuable  because  not  meant 
for  any  day  beyond  that  which  elicited  it.  Chief-Justice 
Jay  confided  to  a  friend  his  belief  that  the  history  of  the 
American  Revolution  would  never  be  written,  on  account  of 
the  reputations  that  would  be  affected  were  the  truth  fully 
told.  That  the  history  has  not  been  really  written  is  known 
to  those  who  have  critically  examined  the  Stevens  "  Fac- 
similes," the  Letters  of  George  III.  and  of  George  Washing- 
ton. To  these  actual  materials,  awaiting  the  competent  and 
courageous  historian,  are  now  added  the  writings  of  Thomas 
Paine,  second  to  none  in  importance.  Certainly  there  was 
no  witness  with  better  opportunities  of  information,  one 
more  sleeplessly  vigilant,  or  more  thoroughly  representative 
of  public  sentiment  during  the  twelve  momentous  years  in 
which  the  American  government  was  founded. 


viii 


INTRODUCTION. 


While  Paine's  American  writings  are  historical  documents, 
their  value  as  such  is  not  limited  to  the  mere  record  or  in- 
terpretation of  events.  They  possess  very  great  value  for 
the  student  of  political  institutions  and  constitutional  de- 
velopment. Although  there  are  no  indications  in  Paine's 
writings  of  direct  indebtedness  to  other  writers,  such  as 
Rousseau  and  Locke,  he  breathes  their  philosophical  atmos- 
phere ;  but  his  genius  is  from  the  first  that  of  an  inventor. 
His  utilitarian  schemes,  following  statements  of  great  prin- 
ciples, are  sometimes  even  somewhat  droll,  as  if  a  wood- 
cutter should  describe  gravitation  as  a  law  for  bringing  down 
his  axe  upon  its  log.  It  was,  however,  this  union  in  Paine 
of  the  theocratic-democratic  Quaker  visionary  with  the  prac- 
tical ironworker  and  engineer  which,  had  made  him  so  repre- 
sentative of  the  theoretical  and  the  concrete,  the  religious 
and  the  political,  forces  at  work  in  the  American  Revolution. 
He  utters  the  pertinent  word,  whether  of  sentiment  or 
finance,  ethics  or  gunpowder,  local  government  or  national 
organization,  at  every  stage  up  to  the  formation  of  the 
federal  Union  which  he  was  the  first  to  devise.  The  United 
States  Constitution  departed,  indeed,  from  several  of  the 
principles  maintained  by  Paine, — as  in  its  bicameral  legisla- 
ture, its  disproportionate  representation  in  the  Senate,  and 
the  degree  of  non-amenability  accorded  to  the  States  ;  but 
Paine's  ideas  on  these  subjects  harmonize  more  nearly  with 
much  of  the  advanced  political  philosophy  of  the  present 
day,  and  his  arguments  are  often  used  by  writers  and  states- 
men who  seem  unacquainted  with  his  works.  The  writings 
of  Thomas  Paine  are  therefore  of  living  interest,  not  only  for 
the  light  they  shed  on  important  events,  but  as  studies  and 
illustrations  of  political  and  constitutional  evolution. 

The  present  editor  has  followed  the  earliest  editions,  and 
has  preserved  Paine's  own  spelling.  Nothing  is  suppressed, 
and  nothing  altered  except  manifest  misprints,  and,  in  a 
very  few  cases,  punctuations  which  might  impair  the  sense. 


PREFATORY  NOTE 
TO  PAINE'S  FIRST  ESSAY. 


This  essay  is  here  for  the  first  time  printed  since  its  origi- 
nal appearance  in  the  Postscript  to  the  Pennsylvania  Journal 
and  the  Weekly  Advertiser,  Philadelphia,  March  8,  1775. 
Dr.  Benjamin  Rush,  who  was  much  impressed  by  the  essay, 
says,  "  He  [Paine]  told  me  the  essay  to  which  I  alluded  was 
the  first  thing  he  had  ever  published  in  his  life."  Dr.  Rush, 
writing  thirty-four  years  after  the  interview,  and  in  extreme 
age,  must  have  reported  Paine's  remark  inexactly,  for  sev- 
eral articles  by  Paine  were  published  a  little  earlier  in  1775. 
But  there  are  indications  that  this  antislavery  essay  was 
written  at  the  close  of  1774,  immediately  after  Paine's  arrival 
in  America  (November  30).  It  was  therefore  the  first  essay 
he  wrote  for  publication,  though  its  appearance  was  delayed 
by  the  editor.  Probably  there  was  hesitation  about  pub- 
lishing it  at  all.  It  was  given  a  place  in  the  Postscript. 
In  the  same  issue  "  a  stout  health)'  young  negro  man  "  is 
offered  for  sale,  for  whom  those  interested  may  "  enquire  of 
the  Printers."  Slavery  existed  in  all  of  the  colonies, — there 
were  nearly  6,000  slaves  in  Pennsylvania — nor  had  any  one 
proposed  immediate  abolition  of  the  system  in  America. 

Attention  was  called  to  the  Slave  Trade  by  an  anonymous 
pamphlet,  small  and  cheap,  entitled  "  A  Short  Account  of 
that  Part  of  Africa  inhabited  by  the  Negroes,  etc."  This 
was  published  in  Philadelphia^  the  second  edition  (probably 
the  first  also)  dated  1762.  In  1767  the  Quaker  Anthony 
Benezet  wrote  "  A  Caution  and  Warning  to  Great  Britain 


2 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1774- 


ancl  Her  Colonies,  etc."  (Philadelphia),  in  which  the  English 
denunciations  of  the  Slave  Trade  were  quoted.  In  1772 
the  eminent  Dr.  Benjamin  Rush  published  two  brief  pam- 
phlets inveighing  against  the  Slave  Trade,  and  the  cruelties 
of  some  masters.  Although  Dr.  Rush  recognized  the  in- 
justice of  Slavery  he  made  no  suggestion  for  its  abolition. 
In  the  preface  to  his  "  Essays,  literary,  moral,  and  philo- 
sophical" (Philadelphia,  1798),  Dr.  Rush  says:  "  The  author 
has  omitted  in  this  Collection  two  pamphlets  which  he 
published  in  the  year  1772  upon  the  Slavery  of  the  Negroes, 
because  he  conceived  the  object  of  them  had  been  in  part 
accomplished,  and  because  the  Citizens  of  the  United  States 
have  since  that  time  been  furnished  from  Great  Britain  and 
other  countries  with  numerous  tracts  upon  that  subject 
more  calculated  to  complete  the  effect  intended  by  the 
author,  than  his  early  publications."  When  this  was  written 
Slavery  was  more  powerful  than  in  1772,  and  the  only 
object  "  in  part  accomplished  "  was  the  approaching  end  of 
the  Slave  Trade  (1808).  It  will  be  seen  therefore  that  the 
few  antislavery  protests  in  America  preceding  Paine's  essay 
by  no  means  anticipated  it.  Their  aim  was  to  excite  horror 
of  the  traffic  in  Africans  abroad,  but  they  did  not  propose 
to  restrict  the  home  traffic,  much  less  to  emancipate  the 
slaves.  So  far  as  I  can  discover,  to  Thomas  Paine  belongs 
the  honor  of  being  the  first  American  abolitionist.  Unnoted 
as  this  fact  has  been  from  that  period  to  the  present,  the 
blow  seems  to  have  had  far-reaching  effects.  "  This,"  says 
Dr.  Rush,  "  excited  my  desire  to  be  better  acquainted  with 
him.  We  met  soon  afterwards  in  Mr.  Aitkin's  bookstore, 
where  I  did  homage  to  his  principles  and  pen  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  the  enslaved  Africans."  Those  who  know  anything 
of  the  high  position  and  influence  of  Dr.  Rush  can  hardly 
doubt  that  the  "  essay  with  which  [he]  was  much  pleased  " 
must  have  produced  some  agitation  in  the  small  circle  of 
persons  interested  in  the  subject,  among  whom  Rush  was 
supreme.  Soon  after  the  appearance  of  Paine's  antislavery 
essay  the  first  American  Anti-slavery  Society  was  organized. 
It  was  founded  at  Philadelphia,  in  the  Sun  Tavern,  Second 


1775  J    PREFA  TOR  V  NO  TE  TO  PAINE' S  FIRST  ESSA  Y. 


3 


Street,  April  14,  1775,  under  title  of  "  The  Society  for  the 
Relief  of  Free  Negroes,  unlawfully  held  in  bondage."  There 
can  be  little  doubt  that  Paine  was  among  these  founders, 
and  it  will  be  seen  on  a  farther  page  that  he  partly  drafted, 
and  signed,  the  Act  of  Pennsylvania  abolishing  Slavery, 
March  i,  1780, — the  first  legislative  measure  of  negro- 
emancipation  in  Christendom. 


I. 


AFRICAN  SLAVERY  IN  AMERICA. 

Messrs.  BRADFORD, 

Please  to  insert  the  following,  and  oblige  yours 

A.  B. 

To  Americans. 

That  some  desperate  wretches  should  be  willing  to  steal 
and  enslave  men  by  violence  and  murder  for  gain,  is  rather 
lamentable  than  strange.  But  that  many  civilized,  nay, 
christianized  people  should  approve,  and  be  concerned  in  the 
savage  practice,  is  surprising ;  and  still  persist,  though  it  has 
been  so  often  proved  contrary  to  the  light  of  nature,  to 
every  principle  of  Justice  and  Humanity,  and  even  good 
policy,  by  a  succession  of  eminent  men,*  and  several  late 
publications. 

Our  Traders  in  MEN  {an  unnatural  commodity!^  must 
know  the  wickedness  of  that  Slave-Trade,  if  they  attend 
to  reasoning,  or  the  dictates  of  their  own  hearts  ;  and  such 
as  shun  and  stiffie  all  these,  wilfully  sacrifice  Conscience,  and 
the  character  of  integrity  to  that  golden  Idol. 

The  Managers  of  that  Trade  themselves,  and  others, 
testify,  that  many  of  these  African  nations  inhabit  fertile 

*  Dr.  Ames,  Baxter,  Durham,  Locke,  Carmichael,  Hutcheson,  Montesquieu, 
and  Blackstone,  Wallace,  etc.,  etc.    Bishop  of  Gloucester. — Author. 

[What  work  of  Dr.  (?  William)  Ames  is  referred  to  I  have  not  found.  The 
others  are  Baxter's  "  Christian  Directory  "  ;  James  Durham's  "  Law  Unsealed  "  ; 
John  Locke's  "Of  Government";  Gerschomus  Carmichael's  "  Puffendorf  "  ; 
Francis  Hutcheson's  "  System  of  Moral  Philosophy";  Montesquieu's  "  Spirit 
of  the  Laws";  Blackstone's  "Commentaries";  Dr.  George  Wallace  on  the 
ancient  peerages  of  Scotland  ;  ' '  Sermon  before  the  Society  for  the  Propagation 
of  the  Gospel,  21  February  1766,"  by  the  Bishop  of  Gloucester  (Warburton). 
— Editor. 

4 


I77S]  AFRICAN  SLAVERY  IN  AMERICA.  5 


countries,  are  industrious  farmers,  enjoy  plenty,  and  lived 
quietly,  averse  to  war,  before  the  Europeans  debauched 
them  with  liquors,  and  bribing  them  against  one  another ; 
and  that  these  inoffensive  people  are  brought  into  slavery, 
by  stealing  them,  tempting  Kings  to  sell  subjects,  which  they 
can  have  no  right  to  do,  and  hiring  one  tribe  to  war  against 
another,  in  order  to  catch  prisoners.  By  such  wicked  and 
inhuman  ways  the  English  are  said  to  enslave  towards  one 
hundred  thousand  yearly ;  of  which  thirty  thousand  are 
supposed  to  die  by  barbarous  treatment  in  the  first  year; 
besides  all  that  are  slain  in  the  unnatural  wars  excited  to 
take  them.  So  much  innocent  blood  have  the  Managers 
and  Supporters  of  this  inhuman  Trade  to  answer  for  to  the 
common  Lord  of  all ! 

Many  of  these  were  not  prisoners  of  war,  and  redeemed 
from  savage  conquerors,  as  some  plead  ;  and  they  who  were 
such  prisoners,  the  English,  who  promote  the  war  for  that 
very  end,  are  the  guilty  authors  of  their  being  so ;  and  if 
they  were  redeemed,  as  is  alleged,  they  would  owe  nothing 
to  the  redeemer  but  what  he  paid  for  them. 

They  show  as  little  Reason  as  Conscience  who  put  the 
matter  by  with  saying — "  Men,  in  some  cases,  are  lawfully 
made  Slaves,  and  why  may  not  these?  "  So  men,  in  some 
cases,  are  lawfully  put  to  death,  deprived  of  their  goods, 
without  their  consent ;  may  any  man,  therefore,  be  treated  so, 
without  any  conviction  of  desert  ?  Nor  is  this  plea  mended 
by  adding — "  They  are  set  forth  to  us  as  slaves,  and  we  buy 
them  without  farther  inquiry,  let  the  sellers  see  to  it."  Such 
men  may  as  well  join  with  a  known  band  of  robbers,  buy 
their  ill-got  goods,  and  help  on  the  trade ;  ignorance  is  no 
more  pleadable  in  one  case  than  the  other;  the  sellers 
plainly  own  how  they  obtain  them.  But  none  can  lawfully  buy 
without  evidence  that  they  are  not  concurring  with  Men- 
Stealers ;  and  as  the  true  owner  has  a  right  to  reclaim  his 
goods  that  were  stolen,  and  sold  ;  so  the  slave,  who  is  proper 
owner  of  his  freedom,  has  a  right  to  reclaim  it,  however  often 
sold. 

Most  shocking  of  all  is  alledging  the  Sacred  Scriptures  to 


6 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1774- 


favour  this  wicked  practice.  One  would  have  thought  none 
but  infidel  cavillers  would  endeavour  to  make  them  appear 
contrary  to  the  plain  dictates  of  natural  light,  and  Con- 
science, in  a  matter  of  common  Justice  and  Humanity  ; 
which  they  cannot  be.  Such  worthy  men,  as  referred  to 
before,  judged  otherways  ;  Mr.  Baxter  declared,  the  Slave- 
Traders  should  be  called  Devils,  rather  than  Christians  ;  and 
that  it  is  a  heinous  crime  to  buy  them.  But  some  say,  "  the 
practice  was  permitted  to  the  Jews."  To  which  may  be 
replied, 

1.  The  example  of  the  Jews,  in  many  things,  may  not  be 
imitated  by  us  ;  they  had  not  only  orders  to  cut  off  several 
nations  altogether,  but  if  they  were  obliged  to  war  with 
others,  and  conquered  them,  to  cut  off  every  male ;  they 
were  suffered  to  use  polygamy  and  divorces,  and  other 
things  utterly  unlawful  to  us  under  clearer  light. 

2.  The  plea  is,  in  a  great  measure,  false  ;  they  had  no  per- 
mission to  catch  and  enslave  people  who  never  injured  them. 

3.  Such  arguments  ill  become  us,  since  the  time  of  reforma- 
tion came,  under  Gospel  light.  All  distinctions  of  nations, 
and  privileges  of  one  above  others,  are  ceased  ;  Christians 
are  taught  to  account  all  men  their  neighbours ;  and  love 
their  neighbours  as  themselves ;  and  do  to  all  men  as  they 
would  be  done  by  ;  to  do  good  to  all  men  ;  and  Man-stealing  is 
ranked  with  enormous  crimes.  Is  the  barbarous  enslaving 
our  inoffensive  neighbours,  and  treating  them  like  wild  beasts 
subdued  by  force,  reconcilable  with  all  these  Divine  precepts  ? 
Is  this  doing  to  them  as  we  would  desire  they  should  do  to 
us?  If  they  could  carry  off  and  enslave  some  thousands  of 
us,  would  we  think  it  just  ? — One  would  almost  wish  they 
could  for  once ;  it  might  convince  more  than  Reason,  or  the 
Bible. 

As  much  in  vain,  perhaps,  will  they  search  ancient  history 
for  examples  of  the  modern  Slave-Trade.  Too  many  nations 
enslaved  the  prisoners  they  took  in  war.  But  to  go  to 
nations  with  whom  there  is  no  war,  who  have  no  way  pro- 
voked, without  farther  design  of  conquest,  purely  to  catch 
inoffensive  people,  like  wild  beasts,  for  slaves,  is  an  hight  of 


1775] 


7 


outrage  against  Humanity  and  Justice,  that  seems  left  by 
Heathen  nations  to  be  practised  by  pretended  Christians. 
How  shameful  are  all  attempts  to  colour  and  excuse  it ! 

As  these  people  are  not  convicted  of  forfeiting  freedom, 
they  have  still  a  natural,  perfect  right  to  it ;  and  the  Gov- 
ernments whenever  they  come  should,  in  justice  set  them 
free,  and  punish  those  who  hold  them  in  slavery. 

So  monstrous  is  the  making  and  keeping  them  slaves  at 
all,  abstracted  from  the  barbarous  usage  they  suffer,  and 
the  many  evils  attending  the  practice ;  as  selling  husbands 
away  from  wives,  children  from  parents,  and  from  each 
other,  in  violation  of  sacred  and  natural  ties ;  and  opening 
the  way  for  adulteries,  incests,  and  many  shocking  conse- 
quences, for  all  of  which  the  guilty  Masters  must  answer  to 
the  final  Judge. 

If  the  slavery  of  the  parents  be  unjust,  much  more  is 
their  children's ;  if  the  parents  were  justly  slaves,  yet  the 
children  are  born  free ;  this  is  the  natural,  perfect  right  of 
all  mankind  ;  they  are  nothing  but  a  just  recompense  to 
those  who  bring  them  up :  And  as  much  less  is  commonly 
spent  on  them  than  others,  they  have  a  right,  in  justice,  to 
be  proportionably  sooner  free. 

Certainly  one  may,  with  as  much  reason  and  decency, 
plead  for  murder,  robbery,  lewdness,  and  barbarity,  as  for 
this  practice  :  They  are  not  more  contrary  to  the  natural 
dictates  of  Conscience,  and  feelings  of  Humanity  ;  nay,  they 
are  all  comprehended  in  it. 

But  the  chief  design  of  this  paper  is  not  to  disprove  it, 
which  many  have  sufficiently  done  ;  but  to  entreat  Ameri- 
cans to  consider. 

1.  With  what  consistency,  or  decency  they  complain  so 
loudly  of  attempts  to  enslave  them,  while  they  hold  so  many 
hundred  thousands  in  slavery ;  and  annually  enslave  many 
thousands  more,  without  any  pretence  of  authority,  or  claim 
upon  them  ? 

2.  How  just,  how  suitable  to  our  crime  is  the  punishment 
with  which  Providence  threatens  us  ?  We  have  enslaved 
multitudes,  and  shed  much  innocent  blood  in  doing  it :  and 


8 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1774- 


now  are  threatened  with  the  same.  And  while  other  evils 
are  confessed,  and  bewailed,  why  not  this  especially,  and 
publicly  ;  than  which  no  other  vice,  if  all  others,  has  brought 
so  much  guilt  on  the  land  ? 

3.  Whether,  then,  all  ought  not  immediately  to  discon- 
tinue and  renounce  it,  with  grief  and  abhorrence  ?  Should 
not  every  society  bear  testimony  against  it,  and  account 
obstinate  persisters  in  it  bad  men,  enemies  to  their  country, 
and  exclude  them  from  fellowship ;  as  they  often  do  for 
much  lesser  faults? 

4.  The  great  Question  may  be — What  should  be  done 
with  those  who  are  enslaved  already  ?  To  turn  the  old  and 
infirm  free,  would  be  injustice  and  cruelty ;  they  who 
enjoyed  the  labours  of  their  better  days  should  keep,  and 
treat  them  humanely.  As  to  the  rest,  let  prudent  men,  with 
the  assistance  of  legislatures,  determine  what  is  practicable 
for  masters,  and  best  for  them.  Perhaps  some  could  give 
them  lands  upon  reasonable  rent,  some,  employing  them  in 
their  labour  still,  might  give  them  some  reasonable  allow- 
ances for  it ;  so  as  all  may  have  some  property,  and  fruits  of 
their  labours  at  their  own  disposal,  and  be  encouraged  to 
industry ;  the  family  may  live  together,  and  enjoy  the  natu- 
ral satisfaction  of  exercising  relative  affections  and  duties, 
with  civil  protection,  and  other  advantages,  like  fellow  men. 
Perhaps  they  might  sometime  form  useful  barrier  settle- 
ments on  the  frontiers.  Thus  they  may  become  interested 
in  the  public  welfare,  and  assist  in  promoting  it  ;  instead  of 
being  dangerous,  as  now  they  are,  should  any  enemy  prom- 
ise them  a  better  condition. 

5.  The  past  treatment  of  Africans  must  naturally  fill  them 
with  abhorrence  of  Christians  ;  lead  them  to  think  our  reli- 
gion would  make  them  more  inhuman  savages,  if  they' 
embraced  it ;  thus  the  gain  of  that  trade  has  been  pursued  in 
opposition  to  the  Redeemer's  cause,  and  the  happiness  of 
men  :  Are  we  not,  therefore,  bound  in  duty  to  him  and  to 
them  to  repair  these  injuries,  as  far  as  possible,  by  taking 
some  proper  measures  to  instruct,  not  only  the  slaves  here, 
but  the  Africans  in  their  own  countries?    Primitive  Chris- 


1775] 


AI-KICAN   SLAVERY  IN  AMERICA. 


9 


tians  laboured  always  to  spread  their  Divine  Religion  ;  and 
this  is  equally  our  duty  while  there  is  an  Heathen  nation  : 
But  what  singular  obligations  are  we  under  to  these  injured 
people  ! 

These  arc  the  sentiments  of 

Justice  and  Humanity. 


II. 


A  DIALOGUE  BETWEEN  GENERAL  WOLFE  AND 
GENERAL  GAGE  IN  A  WOOD  NEAR  BOSTON.' 

Gen.  Wolfe.    Welcome  my  old  friend  to  this  retreat. 

Gett.  Gage.  I  am  glad  to  see  you  my  dear  Mr.  Wolfe, 
but  what  has  brought  you  back  again  to  this  world  ? 

Gen.  Wolfe.  I  am  sent  by  a  group  of  British  heroes  to 
remonstrate  with  you  upon  your  errand  to  this  place.  You 
are  come  upon  a  business  unworthy  a  British  soldier,  and  a 
freeman.  You  have  come  here  to  deprive  your  fellow  sub- 
jects of  their  liberty. 

Gen.  Gage.  God  forbid  !  I  am  come  here  to  execute 
the  orders  of  my  Sovereign, — a  Prince  of  unbounded  wis- 
dom and  goodness,  and  who  aims  at  no  higher  honor  than 
that  of  being  the  King  of  a  free  people. 

Gen.  Wolfe.  Strange  language  from  a  British  soldier ! 
I  honour  the  crown  of  Great-Britain  as  an  essential  part  of 
her  excellent  constitution.  I  served  a  Sovereign  to  whom 
the  impartial  voice  of  posterity  has  ascribed  the  justice  of 
the  man  as  well  as  the  magnanimity  o''  a  King,  and  yet  such 
was  the  free  spirit  of  the  troops  under  my  command,  that  I 
could  never  animate  them  with  a  proper  martial  spirit  with- 
out setting  before  them  the  glorious  objects,  of  their  King 
and  their  COUNTRY. 

Gen.  Gage.  The  orders  of  my  Sovereign  have  been  sanc- 
tified by  the  Parliament  of  Great-Britain.  All  the  wisdom 
and  liberty  of  the  whole  empire  are  collected  in  that  august 
Assembly.  My  troops  therefore  cannot  want  the  same 
glorious  motives  which  animated  yours,  in  the  present  ex- 

'  From  the  Pennsylvania  yournal,  January  4,  1775. 
10 


1775]      DIALOGUE  BETWEEN  WOLFE  AND  GAGE.  II 


pedition.  They  will  fight  for  their  country  as  well  as  their 
King. 

Gen.  Wolfe.  The  wisest  assemblies  of  men  are  as 
liable  as  individuals,  to  corruption  and  error.  The  greatest 
ravages  which  have  ever  been  committed  upon  the  liberty 
and  happiness  of  mankind  have  been  by  weak  and  corrupted 
republics.  The  American  colonies  are  entitled  to  all  the 
privileges  of  British  subjects.  Equality  of  liberty  is  the 
glory  of  every  Briton.  He  does  not  forfeit  it  by  crossing 
the  Ocean.  He  carries  it  with  him  into  the  most  distant 
parts  of  the  world,  because  he  carries  with  him  the  immu- 
table laws  of  nature.  A  Briton  or  an  American  ceases  to 
be  a  British  subject  when  he  ceases  to  be  governed  by  rulers 
chosen  or  approved  of  by  himself.  This  is  the  essence  of 
liberty  and  of  the  British  constitution. 

Gen.  Gage.  The  inhabitants  of  the  province  of  Massa- 
chusetts Bay,  have  not  only  thrown  off  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  British  Parliament,  but  they  are  disaffected  to  the  British 
crown.  They  cannot  even  bear  with  that  small  share  of 
regal  power  and  grandeur  which  have  been  delegated  to  the 
Governors  of  this  province.  They  traduced  Sir  Francis 
Bernard,  and  petitioned  the  King  to  remove  Mr.  Hutchin- 
son from  the  seat  of  government.  But  their  opposition  to 
my  administration  has  arisen  to  open  rebellion.  They  have 
refused  to  obey  my  proclamations.  They  have  assembled 
and  entered  into  associations  to  eat  no  mutton  and  to  wear 
clothes  manufactured  in  this  country, — they  have  even 
provided  themselves  with  arms  and  ammunition,  and  have 
acquired  a  complete  knowledge  of  the  military  exercises,  in 
direct  opposition  to  my  proclamations. 

Gen.  Wolfe.  The  inhabitants  of  Massachusetts  Bay 
were  once  a  brave  and  loyal  people.  If  they  are  disaffected 
to  his  present  Majesty,  it  is  because  his  Ministers  have  sent 
counterfeit  impressions  of  his  royal  virtues  to  govern  them. 
Bernard  and  Hutchinson  must  have  been  a  composition  of 
all  the  base  and  wicked  qualities  in  human  nature  to  have 
diminished  the  loyalty  of  those  illustrious  subjects,  or  weak- 
ened their  devotion  to  every  part  of  the  British  constitution. 


12 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


— I  must  add  here  that  the  late  proceedings  of  the  British 
ParHament  towards  the  American  colonists  have  reached  the 
British  heroes  in  Elysium,  and  have  produced  a  suspen- 
sion of  their  happiness.  The  Quebec  Bill  in  a  particular 
manner  has  roused  their  resentment.  It  was  once  the  glory 
of  Englishmen  to  draw  the  sword  only  in  defence  of  liberty 
and  the  protestant  religion,  or  to  extend  the  blessings  of 
both  to  their  unhappy  neighbours.  These  godlike  motives 
reconciled  me  to  all  the  hardships  of  that  campaign  which 
ended  in  the  reduction  of  Canada.  These  godlike  motives 
likewise  reconciled  me  to  the  horror  I  felt  in  being  obliged 
to  shed  the  blood  of  those  brave  Frenchmen,  who  opposed 
me  on  the  plains  of  Abraham.  I  rejoiced  less  in  the  hour 
of  my  death,  in  the  honor  of  my  victory,  than  in  the  glory 
of  having  communicated  to  an  inslaved  people  the  glorious 
privileges  of  an  English  constitution.  While  my  fellow 
soldiers  hailed  me  as  their  conqueror,  I  exulted  only  in  being 
their  Deliverer.  But  popery  and  French  laws  in  Canada 
are  but  a  part  of  that  system  of  despotism,  which  has  been 
prepared  for  the  colonies.  The  edicts  of  the  British  Parlia- 
ment (for  they  want  the  sanction  of  British  laws)  which 
relate  to  the  province  of  Massachusetts  Bay  are  big  with 
destruction  to  the  whole  British  empire.  I  come  therefore 
in  the  name  of  Blakeney — Cumberland — Granby — and  an 
illustrious  band  of  English  heroes  to  whom  the  glory  of  Old 
England  is  still  dear,  to  beg  you  to  have  no  hand  in  the 
execution  of  them.  Remember  Sir  you  are  a  man  as  well 
as  a  soldier.  You  did  not  give  up  your  privileges  as  a  citizen 
when  you  put  on  your  sword.  British  soldiers  are  not 
machines,  to  be  animated  only  with  the  voice  of  a  Minister 
of  State.  They  disdain  those  ideas  of  submission  which 
preclude  them  from  the  liberty  of  thinking  for  themselves, 
and  degrade  them  to  an  equality  with  a  war  horse,  or  an 
elephant.  If  you  value  the  sweets  of  peace  and  liberty, — 
if  you  have  any  regard  to  the  glory  of  the  British  name,  and 
if  you  prefer  the  society  of  Grecian,  Roman-,  and  British 
heroes  in  the  world  of  spirits,  to  the  company  of  Jeffries, 
Kirk,  and  other  royal  executioners,  I  conjure  you  imme- 


1775]      DIALOGUE  BETWEEN  WOLFE  AND  GAGE.  13 


diately  to  resign  your  commission.  Assign  the  above  rea- 
sons to  your  Sovereign  for  your  conduct,  and  you  will  have 
the  Jij/i*  glory  of  performing  an  action  which  would  do  honour 
to  an  angel.  You  will  restore  perpetual  harmony  between 
Britain  and  her  colonies. 


III. 


THE  MAGAZINE  IN  AMERICA.' 

In  a  country  whose  reigning  character  is  the  love  of 
science,  it  is  somewhat  strange  that  the  channels  of  com- 
munication should  continue  so  narrow  and  limited.  The 
weekly  papers  are  at  present  the  only  vehicles  of  public 
information.  Convenience  and  necessity  prove  that  the 
opportunities  of  acquiring  and  communicating  knowledge 
ought  always  to  inlarge  with  the  circle  of  population. 
America  has  now  outgrown  the  state  of  infancy :  her 
strength  and  commerce  make  large  advances  to  manhood ; 
and  science  in  all  its  branches  has  not  only  blossomed,  but 
even  ripened  on  the  soil.  The  cottages  as  it  were  of  yester- 
day have  grown  to  villages,  and  the  villages  to  cities ;  and 
while  proud  antiquity,  like  a  skeleton  in  rags,  parades  the 
streets  of  other  nations,  their  genius,  as  if  sickened  and  dis- 
gusted with  the  phantom,  comes  hither  for  recovery. 

The  present  enlarged  and  improved  state  of  things  gives 

'  Introductory  of  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  or  American  Museum, 
Philadelphia,  published  by  Robert  Aitkin.  Paine  was  its  first  editor,  and  Dr. 
Rush  says  that  some  of  his  writings  in  it  "  gave  it  a  sudden  currency  which  few 
works  of  the  kind  have  since  had  in  our  country."  His  salary  was  fifty  pounds. 
I  conclude  to  omit  several  brief  articles  in  it  by  Paine,  giving  descriptions  of 
scientific  machines,  as  they  require  reproduction  of  the  plates,  and  are  technical. 
Several  of  Paine's  poems  were  first  published  in  this  magazine,  including  the 
Song  on  "  The  Death  of  General  Wolfe  "  (with  music),  which,  though  written 
in  England,  was  not  published  in  the  Gentleman's  Magazine  (as  some  have 
stated),  or  elsewhere  in  that  country.  Paine  wrote  under  various  signatures  in 
his  magazine,  but  I  feel  certain,  after  careful  investigation,  that  the  articles 
reproduced  from  the  magazine  in  this  volume  are  from  his  pen.  It  may  be 
remarked  that  in  the  September  number  (1775)  a  picture  of  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill  appears,  displaying  for  the  first  time,  I  believe,  the  stripes  of  the  American 
flag. — Editor. 

14 


THE  MAGAZINE  IN  AMERICA. 


15 


every  encouragement  which  the  editor  of  a  New  Magazine 
can  reasonably  hope  for.  The  failure  of  former  ones  cannot 
be  drawn  as  a  parallel  now.  Change  of  times  adds  propriety 
to  new  measures.  In  the  early  days  of  colonization,  when 
a  whisper  was  almost  sufficient  to  have  negotiated  all  our 
internal  concerns,  the  publishing  even  of  a  newspaper  would 
have  been  premature.  Those  times  are  past ;  and  popula- 
tion has  established  both  their  use  and  their  credit.  But 
their  plan  being  almost  wholly  devoted  to  news  and  com- 
merce, affords  but  a  scanty  residence  to  the  Muses.  Their 
path  lies  wide  of  the  field  of  science,  and  has  left  a  rich  and 
unexplored  region  for  new  adventurers. 

It  has  always  been  the  opinion  of  the  learned  and  curious, 
that  a  magazine,  when  properly  conducted,  is  the  nursery  of 
genius  ;  and  by  constantly  accumulating  new  matter,  be- 
comes a  kind  of  market  for  wit  and  utility.  The  opportuni- 
ties which  it  affords  to  men  of  abilities  to  communicate  their 
studies,  kindle  up  a  spirit  of  invention  and  emulation.  An 
unexercised  genius  soon  contracts  a  kind  of  mossiness,  which 
not  only  checks  its  growth,  but  abates  its  natural  vigour. 
Like  an  untenanted  house  it  falls  into  decay,  and  frequently 
ruins  the  possessor. 

The  British  magazines,  at  their  commencement,  were  the 
repositories  of  ingenuity  :  They  are  now  the  retailers  of  tale 
and  nonsense.  From  elegance  they  sunk  to  simplicity,  from 
simplicity  to  folly,  and  from  folly  to  voluptuousness.  The 
Gentleman's,  the  London,  and  the  Universal,  Magazines, 
bear  yet  some  marks  of  their  originality ;  but  the  Town 
and  Country,  the  Covent-Garden,  and  the  Westminster,  are 
no  better  than  incentives  to  profligacy  and  dissipation.  They 
have  added  to  the  dissolution  of  manners,  and  supported 
Venus  against  the  Muses. 

America  yet  inherits  a  large  portion  of  her  first-imported 
virtue.  Degeneracy  is  here  almost  a  useless  word.  Those 
who  are  conversant  with  Europe  would  be  tempted  to  be- 
lieve that  even  the  air  of  the  Atlantic  disagrees  with  the 
constitution  of  foreign  vices ;  if  they  survive  the  voyage, 
they  either  expire  on  their  arrival,  or  linger  away  in  an  in- 


l6  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1775 


curable  consumption.  There  is  a  happy  something  in  the 
climate  of  America,  which  disarms  them  of  all  their  power 
both  of  infection  and  attraction. 

But  while  we  give  no  encouragement  to  the  importation 
of  foreign  vices,  we  ought  to  be  equally  as  careful  not  to 
create  any.  A  vice  begotten  might  be  worse  than  a  vice 
imported.  The  latter,  depending  on  favour,  would  be  a 
sycophant ;  the  other,  by  pride  of  birth,  would  be  a  tyrant : 
To  the  one  we  should  be  dupes,  to  the  other  slaves. 

There  is  nothing  which  obtains  so  general  an  influence 
over  the  manners  and  morals  of  a  people  as  the  Press ;  from 
that,  as  from  a  fountain,  the  streams  of  vice  or  virtue  are 
poured  forth  over  a  country :  And  of  all  publications,  none 
are  more  calculated  to  improve  or  infect  than  a  periodical 
one.  All  others  have  their  rise  and  their  exit  ;  but  this 
renews  the  pursuit.  If  it  has  an  evil  tendency,  it  debauches 
by  the  power  of  repetition  ;  if  a  good  one,  it  obtains  favor 
by  the  gracefulness  of  soliciting  it.  Like  a  lover,  it  woos 
its  mistress  with  unabated  ardor,  nor  gives  up  the  pursuit 
without  a  conquest. 

The  two  capital  supports  of  a  magazine  are  Utility  and 
Entertainment :  The  first  is  a  boundless  path,  the  other  an 
endless  spring.  To  suppose  that  arts  and  sciences  are  ex- 
hausted subjects,  is  doing  them  a  kind  of  dishonour.  The 
divine  mechanism  of  creation  reproves  such  folly,  and  shews 
us  by  comparison,  the  imperfection  of  our  most  refined 
inventions.  I  cannot  believe  that  this  species  of  vanity  is 
peculiar  to  the  present  age  only.  I  have  no  doubt  but  that 
it  existed  before  the  flood,  and  even  in  the  wildest  ages  of 
antiquity.  'Tis  folly  we  have  inherited,  not  created  ;  and 
the  discoveries  which  every  day  produces,  have  greatly  con- 
tributed to  dispossess  us  of  it.  Improvement  and  the  world 
will  expire  together :  And  till  that  period  arrives,  we  may 
plunder  the  mine,  but  can  never  exhaust  it !  That  "  We  have 
found  out  every  thing,''  has  been  the  motto  of  every  age. 
Let  our  ideas  travel  a  little  into  antiquity,  and  we  shall 
find  larger  portions  of  it  than  now ;  and  so  unwilling  were 
our  ancestors  to  descend  from  this  mountain  of  perfection. 


1775] 


THE  MAGAZINE  IN  AMERICA. 


•7 


that  when  any  new  discovery  exceeded  the  common  stand- 
ard, the  discoverer  was  believed  to  be  in  alHancc  with  the 
devil.  It  was  not  the  ignorance  of  the  age  only,  but  the 
vanity  of  it,  which  rendered  it  dangerous  to  be  ingenious. 
The  man  who  first  planned  and  erected  a  tenable  hut,  with 
a  hole  for  the  smoke  to  pass,  and  the  light  to  enter,  was 
perhaps  called  an  able  architect,  but  he  who  first  improved 
it  with  a  chimney,  could  be  no  less  than  a  prodigy  ;  yet  had 
the  same  man  been  so  unfortunate  as  to  have  embellished  it 
with  glass  windows,  he  might  probably  have  been  burnt  for 
a  magician.  Our  fancies  would  be  highly  diverted  could  we 
look  back,  and  behold  a  circle  of  original  Indians  harranguing 
on  the  sublime  perfection  of  the  age :  Yet  'tis  not  impossi- 
ble but  future  times  may  exceed  us  almost  as  much  as  we 
have  exceeded  them. 

I  would  wish  to  extirpate  the  least  remains  of  this  im- 
politic vanity.  It  has  a  direct  tendency  to  unbrace  the 
nerves  of  invention,  and  is  peculiarly  hurtful  to  young 
colonies.  A  magazine  can  never  want  matter  in  America, 
if  the  inhabitants  will  do  justice  to  their  own  abilities.  Agri- 
culture and  manufactures  owe  much  of  their  improvement 
in  England,  to  hints  first  thrown  out  in  some  of  their  maga- 
zines. Gentlemen  whose  abilities  enabled  them  to  make 
experiments,  frequently  chose  that  method  of  communica- 
tion, on  account  of  its  convenience.  And  why  should  not 
the  same  spirit  operate  in  America?  I  have  no  doubt  of 
seeing,  in  a  little  time,  an  American  magazine  full  of  more 
useful  matter  than  I  ever  saw  an  English  one  :  Because  we 
are  not  exceeded  in  abilities,  have  a  more  extensive  field  for 
enquiry  ;  and,  whatever  may  be  our  political  state,  Our  hap- 
piness will  always  depend  upon  ourselves. 

Something  useful  will  always  arise  from  exercising  the 
invention,  though  perhaps,  like  the  witch  of  Endor,  we  shall 
raise  up  a  being  we  did  not  expect.  We  owe  many  of  our 
noblest  discoveries  more  to  accident  than  wisdom.  In  quest 
of  a  pebble  we  have  found  a  diamond,  and  returned  enriched 
with  the  treasure.  Such  happy  accidents  give  additional 
encouragement  to  the  making  experiments  ;  and  the  con- 

VOL.   I.— 2 


i8 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1775 


venience  which  a  magazine  affords  of  collecting  and  con- 
veying them  to  the  public,  enhances  their  utility.  Where 
this  opportunity  is  wanting,  many  little  inventions,  the  fore- 
runners of  improvement,  are  suffered  to  expire  on  the  spot 
that  produced  them  ;  and,  as  an  elegant  writer  beautifully 
-expresses  on  another  occasion, 

"  They  waste  their  sweetness  on  the  desert  air." — Gray. 

In  matters  of  humour  and  entertainment  there  can  be  no 
reason  to  apprehend  a  deficiency.  Wit  is  naturally  a  volun- 
teer, delights  in  action,  and  under  proper  discipline  is  capa- 
ble of  great  execution.  'Tis  a  perfect  master  in  the  art  of 
bush-fighting ;  and  though  it  attacks  with  more  subtility 
than  science,  has  often  defeated  a  whole  regiment  of  heavy 
artillery. — Though  I  have  rather  exceeded  the  line  of  gravity 
in  this  description  of  wit,  I  am  unwilling  to  dismiss  it  with- 
out being  a  little  more  serious. — 'Tis  a  qualification  which, 
like  the  passions,  has  a  natural  wildness  that  requires  govern- 
ing. Left  to  itself,  it  soon  overflows  its  banks,  mixes  with 
common  filth,  and  brings  disrepute  on  the  fountain.  We 
have  many  valuable  springs  of  it  in  America,  which  at  present 
run  purer  streams,  than  the  generality  of  it  in  other  countries. 
In  France  and  Italy,  'tis  froth  highly  fomented  :  In  England 
it  has  much  of  the  same  spirit,  but  rather  a  browner  com- 
plexion. European  wit  is  one  of  the  worst  articles  we  can 
import.  It  has  an  intoxicating  power  with  it,  which 
debauches  the  very  vitals  of  chastity,  and  gives  a  false  colour- 
ing to  every  thing  it  censures  or  defends.  We  soon  grow 
fatigued  with  the  excess,  and  withdraw  like  gluttons  sickened 
with  intemperance.  On  the  contrary,  how  happily  are  the 
sallies  of  innocent  humour  calculated  to  amuse  and  sweeten 
the  vacancy  of  business !  We  enjoy  the  harmless  luxury 
without  surfeiting,  and  strengthen  the  spirits  by  relaxing 
them. 

The  Press  has  not  only  a  great  influence  over  our  manners 
and  morals,  but  contributes  largely  to  our  pleasures  ;  and  a 
magazine  when  properly  enriched,  is  very  conveniently  cal- 
culated for  this  purpose.     Voluminous  works  weary  the 


I77S]  '^^^^  MAGAZINE  IN  AMERICA.  1 9 


patience,  but  here  we  are  invited  by  conciseness  and  variety. 
As  I  have  formerly  received  much  pleasure  from  perusing 
these  kind  of  publications,  I  wish  the  present  success ;  and 
have  no  doubt  of  seeing  a  proper  diversity  blended  so 
agreeably  together,  as  to  furnish  out  an  Olio  worthy  of  the 
company  for  whom  it  is  designed. 

I  consider  a  magazine  as  a  kind  of  bee-hive,  which  both 
allures  the  swarm,  and  provides  room  to  store  their  sweets. 
Its  division  into  cells,  gives  every  bee  a  province  of  its  own  ; 
and  though  they  all  produce  honey,  yet  perhaps  they  differ 
in  their  taste  for  flowers,  and  extract  with  greater  dexterity 
from  one  than  from  another.  Thus,  we  are  not  all  PHI- 
LOSOPHERS, all  Artists,  nor  all  Poets. 


IV. 


USEFUL  AND  ENTERTAINING  HINTS.' 

"  The  real  value  of  a  thing, 
Is  as  much  money  as  'twill  bring." 

In  the  possession  of  the  Philadelphia  Library  Company- 
is  a  cabinet  of  fossils,*  with  several  specimens  of  earth,  clay, 
sand,  etc.,  with  some  account  of  each,  and  where  brought 
from. 

I  have  always  considered  these  kinds  of  researches  as  pro- 
ductive of  many  advantages,  and  in  a  new  country  they  are 
particularly  so.  As  subjects  for  speculation,  they  afford 
entertainment  to  the  curious  ;  but  as  objects  of  utility  they 
merit  a  closer  attention.  The  same  materials  which  delight 
the  Fossilist,  enrich  the  manufacturer  and  the  merchant. 
While  the  one  is  scientifically  examining  their  structure  and 
composition,  the  others,  by  industry  and  commerce,  are 
transmuting  them  to  gold.  Possessed  of  the  power  of  pleas- 
ing, they  gratify  on  both  sides ;  the  one  contemplates  their 
natural  beauties  in  the  cabinet,  the  others,  their  re-created 
ones  in  the  coffer. 

'Tis  by  the  researches  of  the  virtuoso  that  the  hidden 
parts  of  the  earth  are  brought  to  light,  and  from  his  dis- 
coveries of  its  qualities,  the  potter,  the  glassmaker,  and 
numerous  other  artists,  are  enabled  to  furnish  us  with  their 

'  From  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  Feb.,  1775. — Editor. 

*  In  the  catalogue  it  is  called  a  collection  of  American  fossils,  etc.,  but  a 
considerable  part  of  them  are  foreign  ones.  I  presume  that  the  collector,  in 
order  to  judge  the  better  of  such  as  he  might  discover  here,  made  first  a  collec- 
tion of  such  foreign  ones  whose  value  were  knovi'n,  in  order  to  compare  by  :  as 
his  design  seems  rather  bent  towards  discovering  the  treasures  of  America  than 
merely  to  make  a  collection. — Author. 

20 


1775]  USEFUL  AND  ENTERTAINING  HINTS. 


21 


productions.  Artists  considered  merely  as  such,  would  have 
made  but  a  slender  progress,  had  they  not  been  led  on  by 
the  enterprising  spirit  of  the  curious.  I  am  unwilling  to 
dismiss  this  remark  without  entering  my  protest  against 
that  unkind,  ungrateful,  and  impolitic  custom  of  ridiculing 
unsuccessful  experiments.  And  of  informing  those  unwise 
or  overwise  pasquinaders,  that  half  the  felicities  they  enjoy 
sprung  originally  from  generous  curiosity. 

Were  a  man  to  propose  or  set  out  to  bore  his  lands  as  a 
carpenter  does  a  board,  he  might  probably  bring  on  himself 
a  shower  of  witticisms  ;  and  tho'  he  could  not  be  jested  at  for 
building  castles  in  the  air,  yet  many  magnanimous  laughs 
might  break  forth  at  his  expence,  and  vociferously  predict 
the  explosion  of  a  mine  in  his  subterraneous  pursuits.  I  am 
led  to  this  reflection  by  the  present  domestic  state  of 
America,  because  it  will  unavoidably  happen,  that  before 
we  can  arrive  at  that  perfection  of  things  which  other  nations 
have  acquired,  many  hopes  will  fail,  many  whimsical  attempts 
will  become  fortunate,  and  many  reasonable  ones  end  in  air 
and  expence.  The  degree  of  improvement  ivhich  America  has 
already  arrived  at  is  unparalleled  and  astonishing,  but  'tis 
miniature  to  what  she  will  one  day  boast  of,  if  heaven  con- 
tinue her  happiness.  We  have  nearly  one  whole  region  yet 
unexplored :  I  mean  the  internal  region  of  the  earth.  By 
industry  and  tillage  we  have  acquired  a  considerable  knowl- 
edge of  what  America  will  produce,  but  very  little  of  what 
it  contains.  The  bowels  of  the  earth  have  been  only  slightly 
inquired  into  :  We  seem  to  content  ourselves  with  such  parts 
of  it  as  are  absolutely  necessary,  and  cannot  well  be  imported  ; 
as  brick,  stone,  etc.,  but  have  gone  very  little  further,  except 
in  the  article  of  iron.  The  glass  and  the  pottery  manufac- 
tures are  yet  very  imperfect,  and  will  continue  so,  till  some 
curious  researcher  finds  out  the  proper  material. 

Copper,  Lead,  '  and  Tin  articles  valuable  both  in  their 
simple  state,  and  as  being  the  component  parts  of  other 
metals  (viz.  brass  and  pewter)  are  at  present  but  little  known 

'  A  footnote  explaining  the  preparation  of  white  lead,  and  correcting  an 
error  in  the  Philadelphia  catalogue,  is  omitted. — Editor. 


22 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1775 


throughout  the  continent  in  their  mineral  form  :  yet  I  doubt 
not,  but  very  valuable  mines  of  them,  are  daily  travelled 
over  in  the  western  parts  of  America.  Perhaps  a  few  feet  of 
surface  conceal  a  treasure  sufficient  to  enrich  a  kingdom. 

The  value  of  the  interior  part  of  the  earth  (like  ourselves) 
cannot  be  judged  certainly  of  by  the  surface,  neither  do  the 
corresponding  strata  lie  with  the  unvariable  order  of  the 
colours  of  the  rainbow,  and  if  they  ever  did  (which  I  do  not 
believe)  age  and  misfortune  have  now  broken  in  upon  their 
union ;  earthquakes,  deluges,  and  volcanoes  have  so  dis- 
united and  re-united  them,  that  in  their  present  state  they 
appear  like  a  world  in  ruins. — Yet  the  ruins  are  beautiful. 
— The  caverns,  museums  of  antiquities. 

Tho'  nature  is  gay,  polite,  and  generous  abroad,  she  is 
sullen,  rude,  and  niggardly  at  home :  Return  the  visit,  and 
she  admits  you  with  all  the  suspicion  of  a  miser,  and  all  the 
reluctance  of  an  antiquated  beauty  retired  to  replenish  her 
charms.  Bred  up  in  antediluvian  notions,  she  has  not  yet 
acquired  the  European  taste  of  receiving  visitants  in  her 
dressing-room  :  she  locks  and  bolts  up  her  private  recesses 
with  extraordinary  care,  as  if  not  only  resolved  to  preserve 
her  hoards,  but  to  conceal  her  age,  and  hide  the  remains  of 
a  face  that  was  young  and  lovely  in  the  days  of  Adam.  He 
that  would  view  nature  in  her  undress,  and  partake  of  her 
internal  treasures,  must  proceed  with  the  resolution  of  a 
robber,  if  not  a  ravisher.  She  gives  no  invitation  to  follow 
her  to  the  cavern. — The  external  earth  makes  no  proclama- 
tion of  the  interior  stores,  but  leaves  to  chance  and  industry, 
the  discovery  of  the  whole.  In  such  gifts  as  nature  can 
annually  re-create,  she  is  noble  and  profuse,  and  entertains 
the  whole  world  with  the  interest  of  her  fortunes ;  but 
watches  over  the  capital  with  the  care  of  a  miser.  Her  gold 
and  jewels  lie  concealed  in  the  earth,  in  caves  of  utter  dark- 
ness ;  and  hoards  of  wealth,  heaps  upon  heaps,  mould  in  the 
chests,  like  the  riches  of  a  Necromancer's  cell.  It  must  be 
very  pleasant  to  an  adventurous  speculist  to  make  excursions 
into  these  Gothic  regions ;  and  in  his  travels  he  may  possi- 
bly come  to  a  cabinet  locked  up  in  some  rocky  vault,  whose 


1775] 


USEFUL  AND  ENTERTAINING  HINTS. 


23 


treasures  shall  reward  his  toil,  and  enable  him  to  shine  on 
his  return,  as  splendidly  as  nature  herself. 

By  a  small  degree  of  attention  to  the  order  and  origin  of 
things,  we  shall  perceive,  that  though  the  surface  of  the 
earth  produce  us  the  necessaries  of  life,  yet  'tis  from  the 
mine  we  extract  the  conveniences  thereof.  Our  houses  would 
diminish  to  wigwams,  furnished  in  the  Indian  style,  and  our- 
selves resemble  the  building,  were  it  not  for  the  ores  of  the 
earth.  Agriculture  and  manufactures  would  wither  away 
for  want  of  tools  and  implements,  and  commerce  stand  still 
for  want  of  materials.  The  beasts  of  the  field  would  elude 
our  power,  and  the  birds  of  the  air  get  beyond  our  reach. 
Our  dominion  would  shrink  to  a  narrow  circle,  and  the  mind 
itself,  partaking  of  the  change,  would  contract  its  prospects, 
and  lessen  into  almost  animal  instinct.  Take  away  but  the 
single  article  of  iron,  and  half  the  felicities  of  life  fall  with  it. 
Little  as  we  may  prize  this  common  ore,  the  loss  of  it  would 
cut  deeper  than  the  use  of  it :  And  by  the  way  of  laughing 
off  misfortunes  'tis  easy  to  prove,  by  this  method  of  investi- 
gation, that  an  iron  age  is  better  than  a  golden  one. 

Since  so  great  a  portion  of  our  enjoyments  is  drawn  from 
the  mine,  it  is  certainly  an  evidence  of  our  prudence  to 
inquire  and  know  what  our  possessions  are.  Every  man's 
landed  property  extends  to  the  [centre]  '  of  the  earth.  Why 
then  should  he  sit  down  contented  with  a  part,  and  practise 
upon  his  estate  those  fashionable  follies  in  life,  which  prefer 
the  superfice  to  the  solid  ?  Curiosity  alone,  should  the 
thought  occur  conveniently,  would  move  an  active  mind  to 
examine  (tho'  not  to  the  bottom)  at  least  to  a  considerable 
depth. 

The  propriety  and  reasonableness  of  these  internal  enqui- 
ries are  continually  pointed  out  to  us  by  numberless  occur- 
rences. Accident  is  almost  every  day  turning  out  some 
new  secret  from  the  earth.  How  often  has  the  plow-share 
or  the  spade  broken  open  a  treasure,  which  for  ages,  perhaps 
for  ever,  had  lain  just  beneath  the  surface  ?  And  tho'  every 
estate  have  not  mines  of  gold  or  silver,  yet  they  may  contain 

'  "  Surface  "  in  the  original,  but  surely  a  clerical  error. — Editor. 


24 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [17 75 


some  strata  of  valuable  earth,  proper  for  manufactures ; 
and  if  they  have  not  those,  there  is  a  great  probability  of 
their  having  chalk,  marl,  or  some  rich  soil  proper  for  manure, 
which  only  requires  to  be  removed  to  the  surface. 

I  have  been  informed  of  some  land  in  England  being 
raised  to  four  times  its  former  value  by  the  discovery  of  a 
chalk  or  marl  pit,  in  digging  a  hole  to  fix  a  post  in  ;  and  in 
embanking  a  meadow  in  the  Jerseys,  the  laborers  threw 
out  with  the  soil,  a  fine  blue  powderly  earth,  resembling 
indigo,  which,  when  mixed  with  oil,  was  used  for  paint.  I 
imagine  the  vein  is  now  exhausted. ' 

Many  valuable  ores,  clays,  etc.  appear  in  such  rude  forms 
in  their  natural  state,  as  not  even  to  excite  curiosity,  much 
less  attention.  A  true  knowledge  of  their  different  value 
can  only  be  obtained  by  experiment :  As  soil  proper  for 
manure,  they  may  be  judged  of  by  the  planter;  but  as  mat- 
ter, they  come  under  the  enquiry  of  the  philosopher.  This 
leads  me  to  reflect  with  inexpressible  pleasure,  on  the  num- 
berless benefits  arising  to  a  community,  by  the  institution 
of  societies  for  promoting  useful  knowledge. 

The  American  Philosophical  Society,  like  the  Royal 
Society  in  England,  by  having  public  spirit  for  its  support, 
and  public  good  for  its  object,  is  a  treasure  we  ought  to 
glory  in.  Here  the  defective  knowledge  of  the  individual  is 
supplied  by  the  common  stock.  Societies  without  en- 
dangering private  fortunes,  are  enabled  to  proceed  in  their 
enquiries  by  analysis  and  experiment :  But  individuals  are 
seldom  furnished  with  conveniences  for  so  doing,  and  gen- 
erally rest  their  opinion  on  reasonable  conjecture. 

I  presume  that  were  samples  of  different  soils  from  differ- 
ent parts  of  America,  presented  to  the  society  for  their 
inspection  and  examination,  it  would  greatly  facilitate  our 
knowledge  of  the  internal  earth,  and  give  a  new  spring  both 
to  agriculture  and  manufactures. 

These  hints  are  not  intended  to  lament  any  loss  of  time, 
or  remissness  in  the  pursuit  of  useful  knowledge,  but  to 

'  A  description  of  the  boring  apparatus,  inserted  here  by  Paine,  is  omitted. — 

Editor. 


USEFUL  AND  ENTERTAINING  HINTS. 


25 


furnish  matter  for  future  studies ;  that  while  we  glory  in 
what  we  are,  we  may  not  neglect  what  we  arc  to  be. 

Of  the  present  state  we  may  justly  say,  that  no  nation 
under  heaven  ever  struck  out  in  so  short  a  time,  and  with  so 
much  spirit  and  reputation,  into  the  labyrinth  of  art  and 
science  ;  and  that,  not  in  the  acquisition  of  knowledge  only, 
but  in  the  happy  advantages  flowing  from  it.  The  world 
does  not  at  this  day  exhibit  a  parallel,  neither  can  history 
produce  its  equal. 

Atlanticus. 

Philadelphia,  Feb.  10, 


V. 


NEW  ANECDOTES  OF  ALEXANDER  THE 
GREAT.' 

In  one  of  those  calm  and  gloomy  days,which  have  a  strange 
effect  in  disposing  the  mind  to  pensiveness,  I  quitted  the 
busy  town  and  withdrew  into  the  country.  As  I  passed 
towards  the  Schuylkill,  my  ideas  enlarged  with  the  prospect, 
and  sprung  from  place  to  place  with  an  agility  for  which 
nature  had  not  a  simile.  Even  the  eye  is  a  loiterer,  when 
compared  with  the  rapidity  of  the  thoughts.  Before  I  could 
reach  the  ferry,  I  had  made  the  tour  of  the  creation,  and 
paid  a  regular  visit  to  almost  every  country  under  the  sun  ; 
and  while  I  was  crossing  the  river,  I  passed  the  Styx,  and 
made  large  excursions  into  the  shadowy  regions ;  but  my 
ideas  relanded  with  my  person,  and  taking  a  new  flight  in- 
spected the  state  of  things  unborn.  This  happy  wildnessof 
imagination  makes  a  man  a  lord  of  the  world,  and  discovers 
to  him  the  value  and  the  vanity  of  all  it  possesses. 

Having  discharged  the  two  terrestrial  Charons,  who  ferried 
me  over  the  Schuylkill,  I  took  up  my  staff  and  walked  into 
the  woods.  Every  thing  conspired  to  hush  me  into  a  pleas- 
ing kind  of  melancholy — the  trees  seemed  to  sleep — and  the 
air  hung  round  me  with  such  unbreathing  silence,  as  if  listen- 
ing to  my  very  thoughts.  Perfectly  at  rest  from  care  or 
business,  I  suffered  my  ideas  to  pursue  their  own  unfettered 
fancies  ;  and  in  less  time  than  what  is  required  to  express  it 
in,  they  had  again  passed  the  Styx  and  toured  many  miles 
into  the  new  country. 

'  From  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  February,  1775. 
26 


1 775 J       ANECDOTES  OF  ALEXANDER  THE  GREAT.  27 


As  the  servants  of  great  men  always  imitate  their  masters 
abroad,  so  my  ideas,  habiting  themselves  in  my  likeness, 
figured  away  with  all  the  consequence  of  the  person  they 
belonged  to ;  and  calling  themselves  when  united,  I  and  Mc, 
wherever  they  went,  brought  me  on  their  return  the  follow- 
ing anecdotes  of  Alexander,  viz. 

Having  a  mind  to  see  in  what  manner  Alexander  lived  in 
the  Plutonian  world,  I  crossed  the  Styx,  (without  the  help 
of  Charon,  for  the  dead  only  are  his  fare,)  and  enquired  of  a 
melancholy  looking  shade,  who  was  sitting  on  the  banks  of 
the  river,  if  he  could  give  me  any  account  of  him.  Yonder  he 
comes,  replied  the  shade,  get  out  of  the  way  or  you  'II  be  run  over. 
Turning  myself  round  I  saw  a  grand  equipage  rolling  towards 
me,  which  filled  the  whole  avenue.  Bless  me  !  thought  I, 
the  gods  still  continue  this  man  in  his  insolence  and  pomp ! 
The  chariot  was  drawn  by  eight  horses  in  golden  harness, 
and  the  whole  represented  his  triumphal  return,  after  he  had 
conquered  the  world.  It  passed  me  with  a  splendour  I  had 
never  seen  before,  and  shined  so  luminously  up  into  the 
country,  that  I  discovered  innumerable  shades  sitting  under 
the  trees,  which  before  were  invisible.  As  there  were  two 
persons  in  the  chariot  equally  splendid,  I  could  not  distin- 
guish which  was  Alexander,  and  on  requiring  that  informa- 
tion of  the  shade,  who  still  stood  by,  he  replied,  Alexander 
is  not  there.  Did  you  not,  continued  I,  tell  me  that  Alex- 
ander was  coming,  and  bid  me  get  out  of  the  way  ?  Yes, 
answered  the  shade,  because  he  was  the  forehorse  on  the  side 
next  to  us.  Horse !  I  mean  Alexander  the  Emperor.  / 
mean  the  same,  replied  the  shade,  for  whatever  he  was  on  the 
other  side  of  the  water  is  nothing  now,  he  is  a  HORSE  here  ; 
and  not  always  that,  for  when  he  is  apprehensive  that  a  good 
licking  is  intended  for  him,  he  watches  his  opportunity  to  roll 
out  of  the  stable  in  the  shape  of  a  piece  of  dung,  or  in  any  other 
disguise  he  can  escape  by.  On  this  information  I  turned  in- 
stantly away,  not  being  able  to  bear  the  thought  of  such  as- 
tonishing degradation,  notwithstanding  the  aversion  I  have 
to  his  character.  But  curiosity  got  the  better  of  my  compas- 
sion, and  having  a  mind  to  see  what  sort  of  a  figure  the  con- 


28 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


['775 


queror  of  the  world  cut  in  the  stable,  I  directed  my  flight 
thither  ;  he  was  just  returned  with  the  rest  of  the  horses  from 
the  journey,  and  the  groom  was  rubbing  him  down  with  a 
large  furz  bush,  but  turning  himself  round  to  get  a  still  larger 
and  more  prickly  one  that  was  newly  brought  in,  Alexander 
catched  the  opportunity,  and  instantly  disappeared,  on  which 
I  quitted  the  place,  lest  I  should  be  suspected  of  stealing 
him :  when  I  had  reached  the  bands  of  the  river,  and  was 
preparing  to  take  my  flight  over,  I  perceived  that  I  had 
picked  up  a  bug  among  the  Plutonian  gentry,  and  thinking 
it  was  needless  to  increase  the  breed  on  this  side  the  water, 
was  going  to  dispatch  it,  when  the  little  wretch  screamed  out. 
Spare  Alexander  the  GREAT.  On  which  I  withdrew  the  vio- 
lence I  was  offering  to  his  person,  and  holding  up  the  em- 
peror between  my  finger  and  thumb,  he  exhibited  a  most 
contemptible  figure  of  the  downfall  of  tyrant  greatness.  Af- 
fected with  a  mixture  of  concern  and  compassion  {which  he 
was  always  a  stranger  to)  I  suffered  him  to  nibble  on  a  pim- 
ple that  was  newly  risen  on  my  hand,  in  order  to  refresh 
him  ;  after  which  I  placed  him  on  a  tree  to  hide  him,  but  a 
Tom  Tit  coming  by,  chopped  him  up  with  as  little  ceremony 
as  he  put  whole  kingdoms  to  the  sword.  On  which  I  took 
my  flight,  reflecting  with  pleasure, — That  I  was  not  ALEX- 
ANDER THE  Great. 

Esop. 


VI. 


REFLECTIONS  ON  THE  LIFE  AND  DEATH  OF 
LORD  CLIVE.' 

Ah  !  The  tale  is  told — The  scene  is  ended — and  the  cur- 
tain falls.  As  an  emblem  of  the  vanity  of  all  earthly  pomp, 
let  his  Monument  be  a  globe,  but  be  that  globe  a  bubble ; 
let  his  Effigy  be  a  man  walking  round  it  in  his  sleep  ;  and  let 
Fame,  in  the  character  of  a  shadow,  inscribe  his  honours  on 
the  air. 

I  view  him  but  as  yesterday  on  the  burning  plains  of 
Plassey,*  doubtful  of  life,  health,  or  victory.  I  see  him  in 
the  instant  when  "  To  be  or  not  to  be,"  were  equal  chances  to 
a  human  eye.  To  be  a  lord  or  a  slave,  to  return  loaded  with 
the  spoils,  or  remain  mingled  with  the  dust  of  India. — Did 
necessity  always  justify  the  severity  of  a  conqueror,  the  rude 
tongue  of  censure  would  be  silent,  and  however  painfully  he 
might  look  back  on  scenes  of  horror,  the  pensive  reflection 
would  not  alarm  him.  Though  his  feelings  suffered,  his 
conscience  would  be  acquitted.  The  sad  remembrance  would 
move  serenely,  and  leave  the  mind  without  a  wound. — But 
Oh  India !  thou  loud  proclaimer  of  European  cruelties, 
thou  bloody  monument  of  unnecessary  deaths,  be  tender  in 
the  day  of  enquiry,  and  show  a  Christian  world  thou  canst 
suffer  and  forgive. 

Departed  from  India,  and  loaded  with  plunder,  I  see  him 
doubling  the  Cape  and  looking  wistfully  to  Europe.  I  see  him 

'  From  the  Pejinsylvania  Magazine,  March,  1775. 

*  Battle  of  Plassey,  in  the  East  Indies,  where  Lord  Clive,  at  that  time  Colonel 
Clive,  acquired  an  immense  fortune,  and  from  which  place  his  title  is  taken. — 
A uthor. 

29 


30 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


contemplating  on  years  of  pleasure,  and  gratifying  his  ambi- 
tion with  expected  honours.  I  see  his  arrival  pompously 
announced  in  every  newspaper,  his  eager  eye  rambling  thro' 
the  crowd  in  quest  of  homage,  and  his  ear  listening  lest  an 
applause  should  escape  him.  Happily  for  him  he  arrived 
before  his  fame,  and  the  short  interval  was  a  time  of  rest. 
From  the  crowd  I  follow  him  to  the  court,  I  see  him  en- 
veloped in  the  sunshine  of  sovereign  favour,  rivalling  the  great 
in  honours,  the  proud  in  splendour,  and  the  rich  in  wealth. 
From  the  court  I  trace  him  to  the  country,  his  equipage 
moves  like  a  camp  ;  every  village  bell  proclaims  his  coming ; 
the  wondering  peasants  admire  his  pomp,  and  his  heart  runs 
over  with  joy. 

But,  alas !  not  satisfied  with  uncountable  thousands,  I 
accompany  him  again  to  India.  I  mark  the  variety  of  coun- 
tenances which  appear  at  his  landing.  Confusion  spreads 
the  news.  Every  passion  seems  alarmed.  The  wailing 
widow,  the  crying  orphan,  and  the  childless  parent  remember 
and  lament ;  the  rival  Nabobs  court  his  favour ;  the  rich 
dread  his  power,  and  the  poor  his  severity.  Fear  and  terror 
march  like  pioneers  before  his  camp,  murder  and  rapine 
accompany  it,  famine  and  wretchedness  follow  in  the  rear. 

Resolved  on  accumulating  an  unbounded  fortune,  he 
enters  into  all  the  schemes  of  war,  treaty,  and  intrigue.  The 
British  sword  is  set  up  for  sale  ;  the  heads  of  contending 
Nabobs  are  offered  at  a  price,  and  the  bribe  taken  from  both 
sides.  Thousands  of  men  or  money  are  trifles  in  an  India 
bargain.  The  field  is  an  empire,  and  the  treasure  almost 
without  end.  The  wretched  inhabitants  are  glad  to  com- 
pound for  offences  never  committed,  and  to  purchase  at  any 
rate  the  privilege  to  breathe  ;  while  he,  the  sole  lord  of  their 
lives  and  fortunes,  disposes  of  either  as  he  pleases,  and 
prepares  for  Europe.* 

*  In  April,  1773,  a  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  under  the  name  of 
the  Select  Committee,  were  appointed  by  the  House  to  enquire  into  the  state  of 
the  East  India  affairs,  and  the  conduct  of  the  several  Governors  of  Bengal.  The 
Committee  having  gone  through  the  examinations.  General  Burgoyne,  the  chair- 
man, prefaced  their  report  to  the  House,  informing  them,  "that  the  reports 


1775]  ^^^^  DEATH  OF  LORD  CLIVE.  3 1 


Uncommon  fortunes  require  an  uncommon  date  of  life  to 
enjoy  them  in.  The  usual  period  is  spent  in  preparing  to 
live:  And  unless  nature  prolongs  the  time,  fortune  bestows 
her  excess  of  favours  in  vain. 

The  conqueror  of  the  cast  having  nothing  more  to  expect 
from  the  one,  has  all  his  court  to  make  to  the  other.  Anxiety 
for  wealth  gives  place  to  anxiety  for  life  ;  and  wisely  recol- 
lecting that  the  sea  is  no  respecter  of  persons,  resolves  on 
taking  his  route  to  Europe  by  land.  Little  beings  move 
unseen,  or  unobserved,  but  he  engrosses  whole  kingdoms  in 
his  march,  and  is  gazed  at  like  a  comet.  The  burning  desert, 
the  pathless  mountains,  and  the  fertile  valleys,  are  in  their 
turns  explored  and  passed  over.  No  material  accident  dis- 
tresses his  progress,  and  England  once  more  receives  the 
spoiler. 

How  sweet  is  rest  to  the  weary  traveller  ;  the  retrospect 
heightens  the  enjoyment  ;  and  if  the  future  prospect  be 
serene,  the  days  of  ease  and  happiness  are  arrived.  An  un- 
inquiring  observer  might  have  been  inclined  to  consider  Lord 

contained  accounts  shocking  to  human  nature,  that  the  most  infamous  designs 
had  been  carried  into  execution  by  perfidy  and  murder."  He  recapitulated  the 
wretched  situation  of  the  East-Indian  princes,  who  held  their  dignities  on  the 
precarious  condition  of  being  the  highest  bribers.  No  claim,  however  just  on 
their  part,  he  said,  eould  be  admitted  without  being  introduced  with  enormous 
sums  of  rupees,  nor  any  prince  suffered  to  reign  long,  who  did  not  quadrate  with 
this  idea  ;  and  that  Lord  Clive,  over  and  above  the  enormous  sums  he  might 
with  some  appearance  of  justice  lay  claim  to,  had  obtained  others  to  which  he 
could  have  no  title.  He  (General  Burgoyne)  therefore  moved,  "That  it  appears 
to  this  house,  that  Robert  Lord  Clive,  baron  of  Plassey,  about  the  time  of  de- 
posing Surajah  Dowla,  Nabob  of  Bengal,  and  establishing  Meer  Jaffier  in  his 
room,  did,  through  the  influence  of  the  power  with  which  he  was  intrusted,  as 
member  of  the  Select  Committee  in  India,  and  Commander  in  Chief  of  the 
British  forces  there,  obtain  and  possess  himself  of  two  lacks  of  rupees,  as 
member  of  the  Select  Committee  ;  a  further  sum  of  two  lacks  and  80,000 
rupees,  as  member  of  the  Select  Committee  ;  a  further  sum  of  two  lacks  of 
rupees,  as  Commander  in  Chief;  a  further  sum  of  16  lacks  of  rupees,  or 
more,  under  the  denomination  of  private  donations ;  which  sums,  amounting 
together  to  20  lacks  and  80,000  rupees,  were  of  the  value,  in  English  money, 
of  ;,{^234,ooo,*  and  that  in  so  doing,  the  said  Robert  Lord  Clive  abused  the 
powers  with  which  he  was  intrusted,  to  the  evil  example  of  the  servants  of 
the  public." — Author. 

*  Equal  to  ;i^340,ooo  Pennsylvania  currency. — Author. 


32 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i775 


Clive,  under  all  these  agreeable  circumstances,  one  whose 
every  care  was  over,  and  who  had  nothing  to  do  but  sit  down 
and  say,  Soul,  take  tJiinc  ease,  thou  hast  goods  laid  up  in  store 
for  many  years. 

The  reception  which  he  met  with  on  his  second  arrival,  was 
in  every  instance  equal  to,  and  in  many  exceeded,  the  honours 
of  the  first.  'Tis  the  peculiar  temper  of  the  English  to 
applaud  before  they  think.  Generous  of  their  praise,  they 
frequently  bestow  it  unworthily  :  but  when  once  the  truth 
arrives,  the  torrent  stops,  and  rushes  back  again  with  the 
same  violence.*  Scarcely  had  the  echo  of  applause  ceased 
upon  the  ear,  than  the  rude  tongue  of  censure  took  up  the 

*  Lord  Clive,  in  the  defence  which  he  made  in  the  House  of  Commons, 
against  the  charges  mentioned  in  the  preceding  note,  very  positively  insists  on 
his  innocence,  and  very  pathetically  laments  his  situation  ;  and  after  informing 
the  House  of  the  thanks  which  he  had  some  years  before  received,  for  the  same 
actions  which  they  are  now  endeavouring  to  censure  him  for,  he  says, 

"  After  such  certificates  as  these,  Sir,  am  I  to  be  brought  here  like  a  criminal, 
and  the  very  best  part  of  my  conduct  construed  into  crimes  against  the  state  ?  Is 
this  the  reward  that  is  now  held  out  to  persons  who  have  performed  such  im- 
portant services  to  their  country  ?  If  it  is,  Sir,  the  future  consequences  that  will 
attend  the  execution  of  any  important  trust,  committed  to  the  persons  who  have 
the  care  of  it,  will  be  fatal  indeed  ;  and  I  am  sure  the  noble  Lord  upon  the 
treasury  bench,  whose  great  humanity  and  abilities  I  revere,  would  never  have 
consented  to  the  resolutions  that  passed  the  other  night,  if  he  had  thought  on  the 
dreadful  consequences  that  would  attend  them.  Sir,  I  cannot  say  that  I  either 
sit  or  rest  easy,  when  I  find  that  all  I  have  in  the  world  is  likely  to  be  confis- 
cated, and  that  no  one  will  take  my  security  for  a  shilling.  These,  Sir,  are 
dreadful  apprehensions  to  remain  under,  and  I  cannot  but  look  upon  myself  as  a 
bankrupt.  I  have  not  anything  left  which  I  can  call  my  own,  except  my 
paternal  fortune  of  ;^500  per  annum,  and  which  has  been  in  the  family  for  ages 
past.  But  upon  this  I  am  contented  to  live,  and  perhaps  I  shall  find  more  real 
content  of  mind  and  happiness  than  in  the  trembling  affluence  of  an  unsettled 
fortune.  But,  Sir,  I  must  make  one  more  observation,  that,  if  the  definition  of 
the  Hon.  Gentleman,  [General  Burgoyne,]  and  of  this  House,  is  that  the  State, 
as  expressed  in  these  resolutions  is,  quoad  hoc,  the  Company,  then,  Sir,  every 
farthing  that  I  enjoy  is  granted  to  me.  But  to  be  called,  after  sixteen  years 
have  elapsed,  to  account  for  my  conduct  in  this  manner,  and  after  an  uninter- 
rupted enjoyment  of  my  property,  to  be  questioned  and  considered  as  obtaining 
it  unwarrantably,  is  hard  indeed  !  and  a  treatment  I  should  not  think  the 
British  Senate  capable  of.  But  if  it  should  be  the  case,  I  have  a  conscious  in- 
nocence within  me,  that  tells  me  my  conduct  is  irreproachable.  Frangas,  non 
Jlectes.    They  may  take  from  me  what  I  have  ;  they  may,  as  they  think,  make 


1775] 


THE  LIFE  AND  DEA  TH  OF  LORD  CLIVE. 


33 


talc.  The  newspapers,  fatal  enemies  to  ill-gotten  wealth  ! 
began  to  buz  a  general  suspicion  of  his  conduct,  and  the  in- 
quisitive public  soon  refined  it  into  particulars.  Every  post 
gave  a  stab  to  his  fame — a  wound  to  his  peace — and  a  nail 
to  his  coffin.  Like  spectres  from  the  grave  they  haunted 
him  in  every  company,  and  whispered  murder  in  his  ear. 
A  life  chequered  with  uncommon  varieties  is  seldom  a 
lone  one.  Action  and  care  will  in  time  wear  down  the 
strongest  frame,  but  guilt  and  melancholy  are  poisons  of 
quick  despatch. 

Say,  cool  deliberate  reflection  was  the  prize,  though  ab- 
stracted from  the  guilt,  worthy  of  the  pains?  Ah  no! 
Fatigued  with  victory  he  sat  down  to  rest,  and  while  he 
was  recovering  breath  he  lost  it.  A  conqueror  more  fatal 
than  himself  beset  him,  and  revenged  the  injuries  done 
to  India. 

As  a  cure  fo*'  avarice  and  ambition  let  us  take  a  view  of 
him  in  his  latter  years.  Hah !  what  gloomy  being  wanders 
yonder?  How  visibly  is  the  melancholy  heart  delineated 
on  his  countenance.  He  mourns  no  common  care — His 
very  steps  are  timed  to  sorrow — He  trembles  with  a  kind  of 
mental  palsy.  Perhaps  'tis  some  broken  hearted  parent, 
some  David  mourning  for  his  Absalom,  or  some  Heraclitus 
weeping  for  the  world. — I  hear  him  mutter  something 
about  wealth. — Perhaps  he  is  poor,  and  hath  not  where- 
withal to  hide  his  head.  Some  debtor  started  from  his 
sleepless  pillow,  to  ruminate  on  poverty,  and  ponder  on  the 
horrors  of  a  jail.  Poor  man  !  I'll  to  him  and  relieve  him. 
Hah!  'tis  Lord  Clive  himself!  Bless  me,  what  a  change! 
He  makes,  I  see,  for  yonder  cypress  shade — fit  scene  for 
melancholy  hearts  !— I'll  watch  him  there  and  listen  to 
his  story. 

Lord  Clive.  "  Can  I  but  suffer  when  a  beggar  pities 
me.    Erewhile  I  heard  a  ragged  wretch,  who  every  mark  of 

me  poor,  but  I  will  be  happy  !    I  mean  not  this  as  my  defence.    My  defence 
will  be  made  at  the  bar  ;  and  before  I  sit  down,  I  have  one  request  to  make  to 
the  House,  thai  when  ihey  come  to  decide  upon  my  honour,  they  will  not  forget 
their  own. "  —  Author. 
VOL.  I.— 3 


34 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [l775 


poverty  had  on,  say  to  a  sooty  sweep,  Ah,  poor  Lord  Clive! 
while  he  the  negro-coloured  vagrant,  more  mercifully  cruel, 
curst  me  in  my  hearing. 

"  There  was  a  time  when  fortune,  like  a  yielding  mistress, 
courted  me  with  smiles — She  never  waited  to  be  told  my 
wishes,  but  studied  to  discover  them,  and  seemed  not  happy 
to  herself,  but  when  she  had  some  favour  to  bestow.  Ah  ! 
little  did  I  think  the  fair  enchantress  would  desert  me  thus; 
and  after  lavishing  her  smiles  upon  me,  turn  my  reproacher, 
and  publish  me  in  folio  to  the  world.  Volumes  of  morality 
are  dull  and  spiritless  compared  to  me.  Lord  Clive  is  him- 
self a  treatise  upon  vanity,  printed  in  a  golden  type.  The 
most  unlettered  clown  writes  explanatory  notes  thereon, 
and  reads  them  to  his  children.  Yet  I  could  bear  these 
insults  could  I  but  bear  myself. — A  strange  unwelcome 
something  hangs  about  me.  In  company  I  seem  no  com- 
pany at  all. — The  festive  board  appears  to  me  a  stage,  the 
crimson  coloured  port  resembles  blood — Each  glass  is 
strangely  metamorphosed  to  a  man  in  armour,  and  every 
bowl  appears  a  Nabob.  The  joyous  toast  is  like  the 
sound  of  murder,  and  the  loud  laughs  are  groans  of  dying 
men.  The  scenes  of  India  are  all  rehearsed,  and  no  one  sees 
the  tragedy  but  myself. — Ah  !  I  discover  things  which  are 
not,  and  hear  unuttered  sounds  

"  O  peace,  thou  sweet  companion  of  the  calm  and  inno- 
cent !  Whither  art  thou  fled  ?  Here  take  my  gold,  and 
all  the  world  calls  mine,  and  come  thou  in  exchange.  Or 
thou,  thou  noisy  sweep,  who  mix  thy  food  with  soot  and 
relish  it,  who  canst  descend  from  lofty  heights  and  walk 
the  humble  earth  again,  without  repining  at  the  change, 
come  teach  that  mystery  to  me.  Or  thou,  thou  ragged 
wandering  beggar,  who,  when  thou  canst  not  beg  success- 
fully, will  pilfer  from  the  hound,  and  eat  the  dirty  morsel 
sweetly ;  be  thou  Lord  Clive,  and  I  will  beg,  so  I  may  laugh 
like  thee. 

"  Could  I  unlearn  what  I've  already  learned — unact  what 
I've  already  acted — or  would  some  sacred  power  convey  me 
,back  to  youth  and  innocence,  I'd  act  another  part — I'd 


1775]       ^^-^  ^-^P^  "^^^  DEATH  OF  LORD  CLIVE.  35 


keep  within  the  vale  of  humble  life,  nor  wish  for  what  the 
world  calls  pomp. 

"  But  since  this  cannot  be, 
And  only  a  few  days  and  sad  remain  for  me, 
I'll  haste  to  quit  the  scene  ;  for  what  is  life 
When  every  passion  of  the  soul 's  at  strife  ?  "  * 

Atlanticus. 

*  Some  time  before  his  death  he  became  very  melancholy — subject  to  strange 
imaginations — and  was  found  dead  at  last. — Author. 


VII. 


CUPID  AND  HYMEN.' 
An  Original. 

As  the  little  amorous  deity  was  one  day  winging  his  way 
over  a  village  in  Arcadia,  he  was  drawn  by  the  sweet  sound 
of  the  pipe  and  tabor,  to  descend  and  see  what  was  the 
matter.  The  gods  themselves  are  sometimes  ravished  with 
the  simplicity  of  mortals.  The  groves  of  Arcadia  were 
once  the  country  seats  of  the  celestials,  where  they  relaxed 
from  the  business  of  the  skies,  and  partook  of  the  diversions 
of  the  villagers.  Cupid  being  descended,  was  charmed  with 
the  lovely  appearance  of  the  place.  Every  thing  he  saw  had 
an  air  of  pleasantness.  Every  shepherd  was  in  his  holyday 
dress,  and  every  shepherdess  was  decorated  with  a  profusion 
of  flowers.  The  sound  of  labour  was  not  heard  among 
them.  The  little  cottages  had  a  peaceable  look,  and  were 
almost  hidden  with  arbours  of  jessamine  and  myrtle.  The 
way  to  the  temple  was  strewed  with  flowers,  and  enclosed 
with  a  number  of  garlands  and  green  arches.  Surely,  quoth 
Cupid,  here  is  a  festival  today.  I'll  hasten  and  enquire  the 
matter. 

So  saying,  he  concealed  his  bow  and  quiver,  and  took  a 
turn  thro'  the  village  :  As  he  approached  a  building  distin- 
guished from  all  the  rest  by  the  elegance  of  its  appearance, 
he  heard  a  sweet  confusion  of  voices  mingled  with  instru- 
mental music.  What  is  the  matter,  said  Cupid  to  a  swain 
who  was  sitting  under  a  sycamore  by  the  way-side,  and 
humming  a  very  melancholy  tune,  why  are  you  not  at  the 

'  From  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  April,  1775. 
36 


1775] 


CUPID  AND  HYMEN. 


37 


feast,  and  why  are  you  so  sad  ?  I  sit  here,  answered  the 
swain,  to  see  a  sight,  and  a  sad  sight  'twill  be.  What  is  it, 
said  Cupid,  come  tell  me,  for  perhaps  I  can  help  you.  I  was 
once  happier  than  a  king,  replied  the  swain,  and  was  envied 
by  all  the  shepherds  of  the  place,  but  now  everything  is  dark 
and  gloomy,  because — Because  what  ?  said  Cupid — Because 
I  am  robbed  of  my  Ruralinda ;  Gothic,  the  Lord  of  the 
manor,  hath  stolen  her  from  me,  and  this  is  to  be  the 
nuptial  day.  A  wedding,  quoth  Cupid,  and  I  know  nothing 
of  it,  you  must  be  mistaken,  shepherd,  I  keep  a  record  of 
marriages,  and  no  such  thing  has  come  to  my  knowledge. 
'Tis  no  wedding,  I  assure  you,  if  I  am  not  consulted  about 
it.  The  Lord  of  the  manor,  continued  the  shepherd,  con- 
sulted nobody  but  Ruralinda's  mother,  and  she  longed  to 
see  her  fair  daughter  the  Lady  of  the  manor:  He  hath  spent 
a  deal  of  money  to  make  all  this  appearance,  for  money  will 
do  anything ;  I  only  wait  here  to  see  her  come  by,  and  then 
farewell  to  the  hills  and  dales.  Cupid  bade  him  not  be 
rash,  and  left  him.  This  is  another  of  Hymen's  tricks, 
quoth  Cupid  to  himself,  he  hath  frequently  served  me 
thus,  but  I'll  hasten  to  him,  and  have  it  out  with  him. 
So  saying,  he  repaired  to  the  mansion.  Everything  there 
had  an  air  of  grandeur  rather  than  of  joy,  sumptuous  but 
not  serene.  The  company  were  preparing  to  walk  in  pro- 
cession to  the  temple.  The  Lord  of  the  manor  looked  like 
the  father  of  the  village,  and  the  business  he  was  upon  gave 
a  foolish  awkwardness  to  his  age  and  dignity.  Ruralinda 
smiled,  because  she  would  smile,  but  in  that  smile  was  sor- 
row. Hymen  with  a  torch  faintly  burning  on  one  side  only 
stood  ready  to  accompany  them.  The  gods  when  they 
please  can  converse  in  silence,  and  in  that  language  Cupid 
began  on  Hymen. 

Know,  Hymen,  said  he,  that  I  am  your  master.  Indul- 
gent Jove  gave  you  to  me  as  a  clerk,  not  as  a  rival,  much  less 
a  superior.  'Tis  my  province  to  form  the  union,  and  yours 
to  witness  it.  But  of  late  you  have  treacherously  assumed 
to  set  up  for  yourself.  'Tis  true  you  may  chain  couples  to- 
gether like  criminals,  but  you  cannot  yoke  them  like  lovers; 


38 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1775 


besides  you  are  such  a  dull  fellow  when  I  am  not  with  you, 
that  you  poison  the  felicities  of  life.  You  have  not  a  grace 
but  what  is  borrowed  from  me.  As  well  may  the  moon 
attempt  to  enlighten  the  earth  without  the  sun,  as  you  to 
bestow  happiness  when  I  am  absent.  At  best  you  are  but 
a  temporal  and  a  temporary  god,  whom  Jove  has  appointed 
not  to  bestow,  but  to  secure  happiness,  and  restrain  the  in- 
fidelity of  mankind.  But  assure  yourself  that  I'll  complain 
of  you  to  the  Synod. 

This  is  very  high  indeed,  replied  Hymen,  to  be  called  to 
an  account  by  such  a  boy  of  a  god  as  you  are.  You  are  not 
of  such  importance  in  the  world  as  your  vanity  thinks;  for 
my  own  part  I  have  enlisted  myself  with  another  master, 
and  can  very  well  do  without  you.  Plutus  *  and  I  are  greater 
than  Cupid ;  you  may  complain  and  welcome,  for  Jove  him- 
self descended  in  a  silver  shower  and  conquered  :  and  by  the 
same  power  the  Lord  of  the  manor  hath  won  a  damsel,  in 
spite  of  all  the  arrows  in  your  quiver. 

Cupid,  incensed  at  this  reply,  resolved  to  support  his 
authority,  and  expose  the  folly  of  Hymen's  pretentions  to 
independance.  As  the  quarrel  was  carried  on  in  silence,  the 
company  were  not  interrupted  by  it.  The  procession  began 
to  set  forward  to  the  temple,  where  the  ceremony  was  to  be 
performed.  The  Lord  of  the  manor  led  the  beautiful  Rura- 
linda  like  a  lamb  devoted  to  sacrifice.  Cupid  immediately 
despatched  a  petition  for  assistance  to  his  mother  on  one  of 
the  sun-beams,  and  the  same  messenger  returning  in  an  in- 
stant, informed  him  that  whatever  he  wished  should  be  done. 
He  immediately  cast  the  old  Lord  and  Ruralinda  into  one 
of  the  most  extraordinary  sleeps  ever  known.  They  con- 
tinued walking  in  the  procession,  talking  to  each  other,  and 
observing  every  ceremony  with  as  much  order  as  if  they  had 
been  awake ;  their  souls  had  in  a  manner  crept  from  their 
bodies,  as  snakes  creep  from  their  skin,  and  leave  the  perfect 
appearance  of  themselves  behind :  And  so  rapidly  does 
imagination  change  the  landscape  of  life,  that  in  the  same 
space  of  time  which  passed  over  while  they  were  walking  to 

*  God  of  riches. — Author. 


CUPID  AND  HYMEN. 


39 


the  temple,  they  both  ran  through,  in  a  strange  variety  of 
dreams,  seven  years  of  wretched  matrimony.  In  which 
imaginary  time,  Gothic  experienced  all  the  mortification 
which  age  wedded  to  youth  must  expect ;  and  she  all  the 
infelicity  which  such  a  sale  and  sacrifice  of  her  person  justly 
deserved. 

In  this  state  of  reciprocal  discontent  they  arrived  at  the 
temple :  Cupid  still  continued  them  in  their  slumber,  and  in 
order  to  expose  the  consequences  of  such  marriages,  he 
wrought  so  magically  on  the  imaginations  of  them  both,  that 
he  drove  Gothic  distracted  at  the  supposed  infidelity  of  his 
wife,  and  she  mad  with  joy  at  the  supposed  death  of  her 
husband  ;  and  just  as  the  ceremony  was  about  to  be  per- 
formed, each  of  them  broke  out  into  such  passionate  solilo- 
quies, as  threw  the  whole  company  into  confusion.  He 
exclaiming,  she  rejoicing;  he  imploring  death  to  relieve  him, 
and  she  preparing  to  bury  him  ;  gold,  quoth  Ruralinda,  may 
be  bought  too  dear,  but  the  grave  has  befriended  me. — The 
company  believing  them  mad,  conveyed  them  away,  Gothic 
to  his  mansion,  and  Ruralinda  to  her  cottage.  The  next 
day  they  awoke,  and  being  grown  wise  without  loss  of  time, 
or  the  pain  of  real  experience,  they  mutually  declined  pro- 
ceeding any  farther. — The  old  Lord  continued  as  he  was, 
and  generously  bestowed  a  handsome  dowry  on  Ruralinda, 
who  was  soon  after  wedded  to  the  young  shepherd,  that  had 
piteously  bewailed  the  loss  of  her. — The  authority  of  Cupid 
was  re-established,  and  Hymen  ordered  never  more  to  ap- 
pear in  the  village,  unless  Cupid  introduced  him. 

ESOP. 


VIII. 


DUELLING." 

"  Cursory  Reflections  o?i  the  Single  Combat  or  Modern  Duel. 
Addressed  to  Gentlemen  in  every  Class  of  Life" 

Gothic  and  absurd  as  the  custom  of  duelling  is  generally 
allowed  to  be,  there  are  advocates  for  it  on  principle ; 
reasoners,  who  coolly  argue  for  the  necessity  and  even  con- 
venience, of  this  mode  of  accommodating  certain  kinds  of 
personal  differences,  and  of  redressing  certain  species  of  in- 
juries, for  which  the  laws  have  not  provided  proper  or 
adequate  remedies  :  they  conclude,  therefore,  that  an  appeal 
to  the  sword  is  a  requisite  supplement  to  the  law,  and  that 
this  sort  of  satisfaction  for  extra  judicial  offences,  must  take 
place,  till  some  other  mode  shall  be  devised  and  established. 
The  learned  Dr.  Robertson  has  observed,  in  favour  of  this 
practice — even  while  he  condemns  it — that  its  influence  on 
modern  manners,  has  been  found,  in  some  respects,  beneficial 
to  mankind. 

"  To  this  absurd  custom,"  says  he,  "  we  must  ascribe,  in  some 
degree,  the  extraordinary  gentleness  and  complaisance  of  modern 
manners,  and  that  respectful  attention  of  one  man  to  another, 
which,  at  present,  render  the  social  intercourses  of  life  far  more 
agreeable  and  decent  than  amongst  the  most  civilized  nations  of 
antiquity."  " 

'  From  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  May,  1775.  I  have  not  discovered  the 
author  of  the  pamphlet  reviewed,  "  Cursory  Reflections,"  etc. — Editor. 

'  "  Reign  of  Emperor  Charles  V.,"  Book  V.  (Dr.  William  Robertson). — Editor. 

40 


'775] 


DUELLING. 


41 


The  author  of  these  considerations  ["  Cursory  Reflec- 
tions "]  reduces  the  arguments  which  have  been  offered  in 
behalf  of  the  private  combat  to  these  two. 

I.  That  the  duel  is  the  only  expedient  to  obtain  satisfaction  for 
those  injuries  of  which  the  laws  take  no  cognizance. 

II.  That  a  man  of  honour  is  bound  on  pain  of  infamy  to  resent 
every  indignity  that  may  be  offered  to  him  with  the  point  of  his 
sword  or  with  a  pistol. 

These  positions  our  sensible  author  undertakes  to  refute  ; 
and  we  shall  give  a  specimen  of  his  reasoning:  but,  first,  it 
will  not  be  improper  to  lay  before  our  readers  part  of  what 
he  has  said  on  the  origin  of  the  single  combat,  or  duel. 

"The  ancient  states,"  says  he,  "of  Greece  and  Rome,  from 
whence  we  derive  the  noblest  models  of  heroism,  supported  pri- 
vate honour,  without  delivering  down  to  us  any  evidences  of  this 
baneful  custom  of  demanding  so  severe  a  decision  of  private 
affronts  ;  which,  considering  the  military  spirit  of  these  nations, 
must,  if  it  obtained  at  all,  have  proved  more  destructive  to  them 
at  home,  than  the  united  swords  of  their  enemies  abroad.  The 
practice  is  in  fact  of  later  and  more  ignoble  birth  ;  the  judicial 
combat,  the  parent  of  modern  duels,  springing  from  monkish 
superstition,  grafted  on  feudal  barbarism.  Whoever  reads  Kurd's 
entertaining  and  ingenious  "  Letters  on  Chivalry  and  Romance," 
with  Robertson's  elaborate  "History  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V.," 
will  no  longer  hesitate  concerning  the  clear  fact. 

"  The  judicial  combat  obtained  in  ignorant  ages,  on  a  conclu- 
sion that  in  this  appeal  to  Providence,  innocence  and  right  would 
be  pointed  out  by  victory,  and  guilt  stigmatised  and  punished  by 
defeat.  But  alas  !  experience  at  length  taught  us  not  to  expect  a 
miraculous  interposition,  whenever  superior  strength,  superior 
skill,  and  superior  bravery  or  ferocity,  either  or  all  of  them,  hap- 
pened to  appear  on  the  side  of  injustice." 

Dr.  Robertson,  above  quoted,  denies  the  fashion  (as  the 
writer  of  these  reflections  has  observed)  of  terminating  pri- 
vate differences  by  the  sword,  or  pistol,  by  the  illustrious 
example  of  the  challenge  sent  by  Francis  I.  of  France  to  the 
Emperor  Charles  V.    This  was  not,  indeed,  the  first  instance 


42 


of  such  challenges,  among  princes ;  but,  as  our  author 
remarks,  the  dignity  of  the  parties,  in  the  present  case, 
afforded  a  sufficient  sanction  for  extending  this  mode  of 
deciding  differences  ;  to  which  we  may  add,  that  the  spirit 
of  chivalry  and  romantic  knighthood  still  prevailing  in  those 
fighting  times,  was  continually  exciting  the  heroes  of  the 
age  to  this  mode  of  proving  their  personal  prowess  and 
valour. 

We  now  return  to  our  author's  manner  of  reasoning  upon 
the  postulata  before  stated  : 

"  With  respect  to  the  first  argument,"  says  he,  "  if  we  annex  any 
determined  ideas  to  our  words,  by  satisfaction  we  are  to  under- 
stand redress,  compensation,  amends  or  atonement.  Now,  Gen- 
tlemen !  for  the  sake  of  all  that  is  valuable  in  life,  condescend  for 
a  minute  to  bring  down  your  refined  notions  to  the  sure  standard 
of  common  sense,  and  then  weigh  the  satisfaction  to  be  obtained 
in  a  duel. 

"  Is  satisfaction  to  be  enforced  from  an  adversary  by  putting  a 
weapon  into  his  hand,  and  standing  a  contention  with  him,  life  for 
life,  upon  an  equal  chance  ? 

"  Is  an  offender  against  the  rules  of  gentility,  or  against  the  ob- 
ligations of  morality,  a  man  presumptively  destitute  of  honour 
himself,  fairly  entitled  to  this  equal  chance  of  extending  an  injury 
already  committed,  to  the  irreparable  degree  of  taking  the  life 
also  from  an  innocent  man  ? 

"  If  a  gentleman  is  infatuated  enough  to  meet  a  person  who  has 
degraded  himself  from  the  character  of  a  gentleman,  upon  these 
equal  terms,  and  loses  a  limb,  or  his  life,  what  species  of  satisfac- 
tion can  that  be  called  ? — But  it  is  better  to  suffer  death  than  in- 
dignity. What,  from  the  injurious  hand  ?  Correct  your  ideas, 
and  you  will  esteem  life  too  valuable  to  be  complimented  away 
for  a  mistaken  notion. 

"  If  the  aggressor  falls,  the  full  purpose  of  the  injured  person  is 
thus  answered,  but  what  is  the  satisfaction  ?  The  survivor  be- 
comes a  refugee,  like  a  felon  ;  or  if  he  should  be  cleared  by  the 
equivocal  tenderness  of  a  court  of  justice,  must  he  not  be  a 
barbarian  instead  of  a  gentleman,  who  can  feed  upon  this  inhuman 
bloody  satisfaction,  without  experiencing  the  pangs  of  self-re- 
proach, for  having  sacrificed  the  life  of  a  fellow  creature  to  a 


1775] 


DUELLING. 


43 


mere  punctilio  ;  and  perhaps  involved  the  ruin  of  an  innocent 
family  by  the  brutal  deed  ?  If,  on  the  other  hand,  he  is  really  a 
mistaken  man  of  humanity,  what  has  he  obtained  ?  The  satisfac- 
tion of  imbittering  all  the  remainder  of  his  life  with  the  keenest 
sorrow ;  of  having  forfeited  all  his  future  peace  of  mind  by  a 
consciousness  of  guilt,  from  which  his  notions  of  honour  can 
never  release  him,  till  the  load  drags  him  down  to  the  grave  ! 

"  If  a  man  of  strict  honour  is  reduced  to  beg  his  life  of  a  mere 
pretender  to  honour,  a  scoundrel  ;  what  satisfaction  can  this  be 
esteemed  ?  Is  not  this  a  mortifying,  a  painful  aggravation  of  a 
wrong  already  sustained  ?  What  consolation  can  honour  afford 
for  such  a  disgrace  ? " 

Our  author  has  some  other  very  sensible  animadversions 
on  this  first  branch  of  the  argument  in  defence  of  duelling ; 
after  vi^hich,  he  proceeds  to  the  second  plea,  viz.  "  The 
obligation  of  resenting  affronts  in  this  manner,  founded  on 
the  infamy  of  suspected  courage";  and,  in  our  opinion,  he 
satisfactorily  proves  that  this  argument  is  by  no  means  irre- 
fragable :  but  for  his  reasoning  on  this  delicate  point,  v^^e 
must  refer  to  his  pamphlet,  and  proceed  to  take  notice  of 
his  plan  for  putting  a  stop  to  the  practice  of  duelling. 

In  the  first  place,  he  recommends  that  a  Xzm  be  passed, 
"  declaring  the  act  of  sending  a  challenge,  or  the  reducing  a 
person  to  defend  his  life  with  sword  or  pistol,  to  be  felony ; 
and  the  killing  a  person  in  a  duel,  to  be  punished  as  murder, 
without  benefit  of  clergy,  unless  sufficient  proof  is  made  that 
the  party  killed,  really  urged  the  combat." 

As  this  first  part  of  his  proposal  relates  rather  to  the 
mode  of  punishing,  than  the  means  of  preventing  duels,  he 
proceeds : 

"  In  every  quarrel  between  two  gentlemen  where  satisfaction  is 
thought  necessary,  let  the  parties  be  empowered  to  summon  a 
jury  of  honour  from  among  their  friends,  six  to  be  appointed  by 
one  gentleman,  and  six  by  the  other,  or  in  case  of  a  refusal  of 
either  party,  let  the  six  chosen  by  the  other  complete  the  number 
by  their  own  appointment,  each  nominating  one  ;  and  finally,  let 
all  this  be  done,  if  possible,  free  from  the  embarrassing  interven- 
tion of  lawyers. 


44 


"  Let  this  jury  of  honour,  when  duly  assembled,  discuss  the 
merits  of  the  dispute  in  question,  and  form  their  opinion  by  a 
majority  of  votes  ;  but  to  guard  against  generating  fresh  quarrels 
by  the  discovery  of  the  votes  on  either  side,  let  the  whole  twelve 
be  bound  to  secrecy  upon  their  honour,  and  the  whole  twelve  sign 
the  verdict  of  the  majority.  Let  a  copy  of  this  verdict  be  deliv- 
ered to  the  gentleman  whose  conduct  is  condemned  ;  and  if  he 
refuses  to  make  the  required  concession  or  due  satisfaction,  let 
this  opinion  be  published  in  such  a  manner  as  may  be  thought 
proper,  and  be  understood  to  divest  him  of  his  character  as  a 
gentleman  so  long  as  he  remains  contumacious. 

"  By  this  single  expedient,  conveyed  in  few  words,  it  is  hoped 
the  necessity  of  duels  may  be  effectually  superseded,  the  practice 
suppressed,  and  ample  satisfaction  enforced  for  all  injuries  of 
honour.  In  the  examination  of  subjects  of  importance  we  are 
often  tempted  to  overlook  the  thing  we  want,  on  a  supposition 
that  it  cannot  be  near  at  hand.  This  plan  may  perhaps  admit  of 
amendment,  but  it  is  feared  the  more  complicated  it  is  rendered, 
the  more  difficult  it  may  prove  to  carry  into  execution  :  and  it  is 
hoped,  as  it  is,  it  will  not  be  the  worse  thought  of,  for  coming 
from  an  unknown  pen." 

With  respect  to  the  practicability  of  this  scheme,  we  ap- 
prehend that  the  great  difficulty  would  lie  in  obliging  the 
quarrelling  parties,  or  either  of  them  (who  by  the  author's 
plan  are  merely  empowered),  to  refer  the  matter  to  a  court 
of  honour.  But  the  writer  does  not  give  this  as  a  finished 
plan  :  he  barely  suggests  the  hint ;  leaving  others  to  improve 
upon  it,  if  thought  worthy  of  farther  consideration. 

As  to  the  proposed  act  for  punishing  the  survivor,  where 
one  of  the  parties  has  fallen  in  the  conflict,  it  is,  indeed,  a 
melancholy  truth,  that  our  laws  in  being  have  been  found 
inadequate  to  the  purpose  of  preventing  duels  by  the  dread 
of  legal  consequences.  The  King  of  Sweden's  method  was 
virtually  the  same  which  is  here  recommended  ;  and  it  is 
said  to  have  been  effectual  in  that  Kingdom. 

The  great  Gustavus  Adolphus,  finding  that  the  custom  of 
duelling  was  becoming  alarmingly  prevalent  among  the 
officers  in  his  army,  was  determined  to  suppress,  if  possible, 


i77S] 


DUELLING. 


45 


those  false  notions  of  honour.  Soon  after  the  King  had 
formed  this  resolution,  and  issued  some  very  rigorous 
edicts  against  the  practice,  a  quarrel  arose  between  two  of 
his  generals ;  who  agreed  to  crave  His  Majesty's  pardon  to 
decide  the  quarrel  by  the  laws  of  honour.  The  King  con- 
sented, and  said  he  would  be  a  spectator  of  the  combat ;  he 
went,  accordingly,  to  the  place  appointed,  attended  by  a 
body  of  guards,  and  the  public  executioner.  He  then  told 
the  combatants  that  "  they  must  fight  till  one  of  them 
died  "  ;  and  turning  to  the  executioner,  he  added,  "  Do  you 
immediately  strike  off  the  head  of  the  survivor."  The  mon- 
arch's inflexibility  had  the  desired  effect :  the  difference  be- 
tween the  two  officers  was  adjusted  ;  and  no  more  challenges 
were  heard  of  in  the  army  of  Gustavus  Adolphus. 

From  the  peculiar  prevalence  of  this  custom  in  countries 
where  the  religious  system  is  established,  which,  of  all  others, 
most  expressly  prohibits  the  gratification  of  revenge,  with 
every  species  of  outrage  and  violence,  we  too  plainly  see, 
how  little  mankind  are,  in  reality,  influenced  by  the  princi- 
ples of  the  religion  by  which  they  profess  to  be  guided,  and 
in  defence  of  which  they  will  occasionally  risk  even  their 
lives. 


IX. 


REFLECTIONS  ON  TITLES.' 

Ask  me  what 's  honour?    I  '11  the  truth  impart : 
Know,  honour  then,  is  Honesty  of  Heart. 

Whitehead. 

When  I  reflect  on  the  pompous  titles  bestowed  on  un- 
worthy men,  I  feel  an  indignity  that  instructs  me  to  despise 
the  absurdity.  The  Honourable  plunderer  of  his  country,  or 
the  Right  Honoiirable  murderer  of  mankind,  create  such  a 
contrast  of  ideas  as  exhibit  a  monster  rather  than  a  man. 
Virtue  is  inflamed  at  the  violation,  and  sober  reason  calls  it 
nonsense. 

Dignities  and  high  sounding  names  have  different  effects 
on  different  beholders.  The  lustre  of  the  Star  and  the  title 
of  My  Lord,  over-awe  the  superstitious  vulgar,  and  forbid 
them  to  inquire  into  the  character  of  the  possessor:  Nay 
more,  they  are,  as  it  were,  bewitched  to  admire  in  the  great, 
the  vices  they  would  honestly  condemn  in  themselves.  This 
sacrifice  of  common  sense  is  the  certain  badge  which  distin- 
guishes slavery  from  freedom  ;  for  when  men  yield  up  the 
privilege  of  thinking,  the  last  shadow  of  liberty  quits  the 
horizon. 

But  the  reasonable  freeman  sees  through  the  magic  of  a 
title,  and  examines  the  man  before  he  approves  him.  To 
him  the  honours  of  the  worthless  serve  to  write  their 
masters'  vices  in  capitals,  and  their  stars  shine  to  no  other 
end  than  to  read  them  by.  The  possessors  of  undue  honours 
are  themselves  sensible  of  this  ;  for  when  their  repeated 
guilt  renders  their  persons  unsafe,  they  disown  their  rank, 

'  From  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  May,  1775. — Editor. 
46 


1775] 


REFLECTIONS  ON  TITLES. 


47 


and,  like  glow-worms,  extinguish  themselves  into  common 
reptiles,  to  avoid  discovery.  Thus  Jeffries  sunk  into  a 
fisherman,  and  his  master  escaped  in  the  habit  of  a  peasant. 

Modesty  forbids  men,  separately  or  collectively,  to  assume 
titles.  But  as  all  honours,  even  that  of  Kings,  originated 
from  the  public,  the  public  may  justly  be  called  the  fountain 
of  true  honour.  And  it  is  with  much  pleasure  I  have  heard 
the  title  of  Honourable  applied  to  a  body  of  men,  who  nobly 
disregarding  private  ease  and  interest  for  public  welfare, 
have  justly  merited  the  address  of  The  Honourable  Conti- 
nental Congress. 

Vox  POPULI. 


X. 


THE  DREAM  INTERPRETED.' 

Parched  with  thirst  and  wearied  with  a  fatiguing  journey 
to  Virginia,  I  turned  out  of  the  road  to  shelter  myself 
among  the  shades  ;  in  a  little  time  I  had  the  good  fortune  to 
light  on  a  spring,  and  the  refreshing  draught  went  sweetly 
down.  How  little  of  luxury  does  nature  want !  This  cool- 
ing stream  administered  more  relief  than  all  the  wines  of 
Oporto ;  I  drank  and  was  satisfied  ;  my  fatigue  abated,  my 
wasted  spirits  were  reinforced,  and  'tis  no  wonder  after  such 
a  delicious  repast  that  I  sunk  insensibly  into  slumber.  The 
wildest  fancies  in  that  state  of  forgetfulness  always  appear 
regular  and  connected ;  nothing  is  wrong  in  a  dream,  be  it 
ever  so  unnatural.  I  am  apt  to  think  that  the  wisest  men 
dream  the  most  inconsistently:  for  as  the  judgment  has 
nothing  or  very  little  to  do  in  regulating  the  circumstances 
of  a  dream,  it  necessarily  follows  that  the  more  powerful  and 
creative  the  imagination  is,  the  wilder  it  runs  in  that  state 
of  unrestrained  invention  :  While  those  who  are  unable  to 
wander  out  of  the  track  of  common  thinking  when  awake, 
never  exceed  the  boundaries  of  common  nature  when  asleep. 

But  to  return  from  my  digression,  which  in  this  place  is 
nothing  more  than  that  wandering  of  fancy  which  every 
dreamer  is  entitled  to,  and  which  cannot  in  either  case  be 
applied  to  myself,  as  in  the  dream  I  am  about  to  relate  I 
was  only  a  spectator,  and  had  no  other  business  to  do  than 
to  remember. 

To  what  scene  or  country  my  ideas  had  conveyed  them- 
selves, or  whether  they  had  created  a  region  on  purpose  to 

'  From  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  June,  1775. — Editor. 
48 


1775] 


THE  DREAM  INTERPRETED. 


49 


explore,  I  know  not,  but  I  saw  before  me  one  of  the  most 
pleasing  landscapes  I  have  ever  beheld.  I  gazed  at  it,  till  my 
mind  partaking  of  the  prospect  became  incorporated  there- 
with, and  felt  all  the  tranquillity  of  the  place.  In  this  state 
of  ideal  happiness  I  sat  down  on  the  side  of  a  mountain, 
totally  forgetful  of  the  world  I  had  left  behind  me.  The 
most  delicious  fruits  presented  themselves  to  my  hands,  and 
one  of  the  clearest  rivers  that  ever  watered  the  earth  rolled 
along  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and  invited  me  to  drink. 
The  distant  hills  were  blue  with  the  tincture  of  the  skies, 
and  seemed  as  if  they  were  the  threshold  of  the  celestial 
region.  But  while  I  gazed  the  whole  scene  began  to  change, 
by  an  almost  insensible  gradation.  The  sun,  instead  of 
administering  life  and  health,  consumed  everything  with  an 
intolerable  heat.  The  verdure  withered.  The  hills  appeared 
burnt  and  black.  The  fountains  dried  away  ;  and  the  at- 
mosphere became  a  motionless  lake  of  air,  loaded  with 
pestilence  and  death.  After  several  days  of  wretched  suf- 
focation, the  sky  grew  darkened  with  clouds  from  every 
quarter,  till  one  extended  storm  excluded  the  face  of  heaven. 
A  dismal  silence  took  place,  as  if  the  earth,  struck  with  a 
general  panic,  was  listening  like  a  criminal  to  the  sentence 
of  death.  The  glimmering  light  with  which  the  sun  feebly 
penetrated  the  clouds  began  to  fail,  till  Egyptian  darkness 
added  to  the  horror.  The  beginning  of  the  tempest  was 
announced  by  a  confusion  of  distant  thunders,  till  at  length 
a  general  discharge  of  the  whole  artillery  of  heaven  was 
poured  down  upon  the  earth.  Trembling  I  shrunk  into 
the  side  of  a  cave,  and  dreaded  the  event.  The  mountain 
shook,  and  threatened  me  with  instant  destruction.  The 
rapid  lightning  at  every  blaze  exhibited  the  landscape  of  a 
world  on  fire,  while  the  accumulating  torrent,  not  in  rain, 
but  floods  of  water,  resembled  another  deluge. 

At  length  the  fury  of  the  storm  abated,  and  nature,  fatigued 
with  fear  and  watching,  sank  into  rest.  But  when  the  morn- 
ing rose,  and  the  universal  lamp  of  heaven  emerged  from 
the  deep,  how  was  I  struck  with  astonishment  !  I  expected 
to  have  seen  a  world  in  ruins,  which  nothing  but  a  new 

VOL.  I.— 4 


50 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


creation  could  have  restored.  Instead  of  which,  the  pros- 
pect was  lovely  and  inviting,  and  had  all  the  promising  ap- 
pearance of  exceeding  its  former  glory.  The  air,  purged  of 
its  poisonous  vapours,  was  fresh  and  healthy.  The  dried 
fountains  were  replenished,  the  waters  sweet  and  wholesome. 
The  sickly  earth,  recovered  to  new  life,  abounded  with  vege- 
tation. The  groves  were  musical  with  innumerable  song- 
sters, and  the  long-deserted  fields  echoed  with  the  joyous 
sound  of  the  husbandman.  All,  all  was  felicity  ;  and  what 
I  had  dreaded  as  an  evil,  became  a  blessing.  At  this  happy 
reflection  I  awoke ;  and  having  refreshed  myself  with 
another  draught  from  the  friendly  spring,  pursued  my 
journey. 

After  travelling  a  few  miles  I  fell  in  with  a  companion, 
and  as  we  rode  through  a  wood  but  little  frequented  by 
travellers,  I  began,  for  the  sake  of  chatting  away  the  tedious- 
ness  of  the  journey,  to  relate  my  dream.  I  think,  replied 
my  friend,  that  I  can  interpret  it :  That  beautiful  country 
which  you  saw  is  America.  The  sickly  state  you  beheld  her 
in,  has  been  coming  on  her  for  these  ten  years  past.  Her 
commerce  has  been  drying  up  by  repeated  restrictions,  till 
by  one  merciless  edict  the  ruin  of  it  is  compleated.  The 
pestilential  atmosphere  represents  that  ministerial  corrup- 
tion which  surrounds  and  exercises  its  dominion  over  her, 
and  which  nothing  but  a  storm  can  purify.  The  tempest  is 
the  present  contest,  and  the  event  will  be  the  same.  She 
will  rise  with  new  glories  from  the  conflict,  and  her  fame  be 
established  in  every  corner  of  the  globe ;  while  it  will  be 
remembered  to  her  eternal  honour,  that  she  has  not  sought 
the  quarrel,  but  has  been  driven  into  it.  He  who  guides  the 
natural  tempest  will  regulate  the  political  one,  and  bring 
good  out  of  evil.  In  our  petition  to  Britain  we  asked  but 
for  peace ;  but  the  prayer  was  rejected.  The  cause  is  now 
before  a  higher  court,  the  court  of  providence,  before  whom 
the  arrogance  of  kings,  the  infidelity  of  ministers,  the  general 
corruption  of  government,  and  all  the  cobweb  artifice  of 
courts,  will  fall  confounded  and  ashamed. 

Bucks  County. 


XL 


REFLECTIONS  ON  UNHAPPY  MARRIAGES.' 

Though 't  is  confessed  on  all  hands  that  the  weal  or  woe 
of  life  depends  on  no  one  circumstance  so  critical  as  matri- 
mony, yet  how  few  seem  to  be  influenced  by  this  universal 
acknowledgement,  or  act  with  a  caution  becoming  the  danger. 

Those  that  are  undone  this  way,  are  the  young,  the  rash 
and  amorous,  whose  hearts  are  ever  glowing  with  desire, 
whose  eyes  are  ever  roaming  after  beauty ;  these  doat  on  the 
first  amiable  image  that  chance  throws  in  their  way,  and 
when  the  flame  is  once  kindled,  would  risk  eternity  it- 
self to  appease  it. — But,  still  like  their  first  parents,  they  no 
sooner  taste  the  tempting  fruit,  but  their  eyes  are  opened : 
the  folly  of  their  intemperance  becomes  visible  ;  shame  suc- 
ceeds first,  and  then  repentance  ;  but  sorrow  for  themselves 
soon  returns  to  anger  with  the  innocent  cause  of  their 
unhappiness.  Hence  flow  bitter  reproaches,  and  keen  in- 
vectives, which  end  in  mutual  hatred  and  contempt :  Love 
abhors  clamour  and  soon  flies  away,  and  happiness  finds  no 
entrance  when  love  is  gone;  Thus  for  a  few  hours  of  dalli- 
ance, I  will  not  call  it  affection,  the  repose  of  all  their 
future  days  are  sacrificed  ;  and  those  who  but  just  before 
seem'd  to  live  only  for  each  other,  now  would  almost  cease 
to  live,  that  the  separation  might  be  eternal. 

But  hold,  says  the  man  of  phlegm  and  economy,  all  are 
not  of  this  hasty  turn — I  allow  it — there  are  persons  in  the 

'  From  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  June,  1775,  where  it  is  appended  to  a 
series  of  papers  ("  The  Old  Bachelor")  which  Paine  did  not  write.  The 
writer  says  he  has  "transcribed"  it. — Editor. 


52 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1775 


world  who  arc  young  without  passions,  and  in  health  with- 
out appetite :  these  hunt  out  a  wife  as  they  go  to  Smithfield 
for  a  horse  ;  and  inter-marry  fortunes,  not  minds,  or  even 
bodies :  In  this  case  the  Bridegroom  has  no  joy  but  in 
taking  possession  of  the  portion,  and  the  bride  dreams  of 
little  beside  new  clothes,  visits  and  congratulations.  Thus, 
as  their  expectations  of  pleasure  are  not  very  great,  neither 
is  the  disappointment  very  grievous  ;  they  just  keep  each 
other  in  countenance,  live  decently,  and  are  exactly  as  fond 
the  twentieth  year  of  matrimony,  as  the  first.  But  I  would 
not  advise  any  one  to  call  this  state  of  insipidity  happiness, 
because  it  would  argue  him  both  ignorant  of  its  nature,  and 
incapable  of  enjoying  it.  Mere  absence  of  pain  will  un- 
doubtedly constitute  ease ;  and,  without  ease,  there  can  be 
no  happiness:  Ease,  however,  is  but  the  medium,  through 
which  happiness  is  tasted,  and  but  passively  receives  what 
the  last  actually  bestows  ;  if  therefore  the  rash  who  marry 
inconsiderately,  perish  in  the  storms  raised  by  their  own 
passions,  these  slumber  away  their  days  in  a  sluggish  calm, 
and  rather  dream  they  live,  than  experience  it  by  a  series  of 
actual  sensible  enjoyments. 

As  matrimonial  happiness  is  neither  the  result  of  insipidity, 
or  ill-grounded  passion,  surely  those,  who  make  their  court 
to  age,  ugliness,  and  all  that 's  detestable  both  in  mind  and 
body,  cannot  hope  to  find  it,  tho'  qualified  with  all  the  riches 
that  avarice  covets,  or  Plutus  could  bestow.  Matches  of 
this  kind  are  downright  prostitution,  however  softened  by 
the  letter  of  the  law;  and  he  or  she  who  receives  the  golden 
equivalent  of  youth  and  beauty,  so  wretchedly  bestowed,  can 
never  enjoy  what  they  so  dearly  purchased  :  The  shocking 
incumbrance  would  render  the  sumptuous  banquet  tasteless, 
and  the  magnificent  bed  loathsome ;  rest  would  disdain 
the  one,  and  appetite  sicken  at  the  other ;  uneasiness  wait 
upon  both ;  even  gratitude  itself  would  almost  cease  to  be 
obliging,  and  good-manners  grow  such  a  burden,  that  the 
best  bred  or  best-natured  people  breathing,  would  be  often 
tempted  to  throw  it  down. 

But  say  we  should  not  wonder  that  those  who  either 


1775]      REFLECTIONS  ON  UNHAPPY  MARRIAGES. 


53 


marry  gold  without  love,  or  love  without  gold,  should  be 
miserable  :  I  can't  forbear  being  astonished,  if  such  whose 
fortunes  are  affluent,  whose  desires  were  mutual,  who  equally 
languished  for  the  happy  moment  before  it  came,  and 
seemed  for  a  while  to  be  equally  transported  when  it  had 
taken  place  :  If  even  these  should,  in  the  end,  prove  as  un- 
happy as  either  of  the  others !  And  yet  how  often  is  this 
the  melancholy  circumstance  !  As  extasy  abates,  coolness 
succeeds,  which  often  makes  way  for  indifference,  and  that 
for  neglect :  Sure  of  each  other  by  the  nuptial  band,  they 
no  longer  take  any  pains  to  be  mutually  agreeable ;  careless 
if  they  displease  ;  and  yet  angry  if  reproached  ;  with  so  lit- 
tle relish  for  each  other's  company,  that  anybody's  else  is 
welcome,  and  more  entertaining.  Their  union  thus  broke, 
they  pursue  separate  pleasures  ;  never  meet  but  to  wrangle, 
or  part  but  to  find  comfort  in  other  society.  After  this  the 
descent  is  easy  to  utter  aversion,  which  having  wearied  itself 
out  with  heart-burnings,  clamours,  and  affronts,  subsides 
into  a  perfect  insensibility  ;  when  fresh  objects  of  love  step 
in  to  their  relief  on  either  side,  and  mutual  infidelity  makes 
way  for  mutual  complaisance,  that  each  may  be  the  better 
able  to  deceive  the  other. 

I  shall  conclude  with  the  sentiments  of  an  American  sav- 
age on  this  subject,  who  being  advised  by  one  of  our  coun- 
trymen to  marry  according  to  the  ceremonies  of  the  church, 
as  being  the  ordinance  of  an  infinitely  wise  and  good  God, 
briskly  replied,  "That  either  the  Christians' God  was  not 
so  good  and  wise  as  he  was  represented,  or  he  never  med- 
dled with  the  marriages  of  his  people ;  since  not  one  in  a 
hundred  of  them  had  anything  to  do  either  with  happiness 
or  common  sense.  Hence,"  continued  he,  "  as  soon  as  ever 
you  meet  you  long  to  part ;  and,  not  having  this  relief  in 
your  power,  by  way  of  revenge,  double  each  other's  misery  : 
Whereas  in  ours,  which  have  no  other  ceremony  than  mutual 
affection,  and  last  no  longer  than  they  bestow  mutual  pleas- 
ures, we  make  it  our  business  to  oblige  the  heart  we  are 
afraid  to  lose ;  and  being  at  liberty  to  separate,  seldom  or 
never  feel  the  inclination.    But  if  any  should  be  found  so 


54 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i775 


wretched  among  us,  as  to  hate  where  the  only  commerce 
ought  to  be  love,  we  instantly  dissolve  the  band  :  God  made 
us  all  in  pairs  ;  each  has  his  mate  somewhere  or  other  ;  and 
't  is  our  duty  to  find  each  other  out,  since  no  creature  was 
ever  intended  to  be  miserable." 


XII. 


THOUGHTS  ON  DEFENSIVE  WAR.' 

Could  the  peaceable  principle  of  the  Quakers  be  univer- 
sally established,  arms  and  the  art  of  war  would  be  wholly 
extirpated :  But  we  live  not  in  a  world  of  angels.  The 
reign  of  Satan  is  not  ended  ;  neither  are  we  to  expect  to  be 
defended  by  miracles.  The  pillar  of  the  cloud  existed  only 
in  the  wilderness.  In  the  nonage  of  the  Israelites.  It  pro- 
tected them  in  their  retreat  from  Pharaoh,  while  they  were 
destitute  of  the  natural  means  of  defence,  for  they  brought 
no  arms  from  Egypt ;  but  it  neither  fought  their  battles  nor 
shielded  them  from  dangers  afterwards. 

I  am  thus  far  a  Quaker,  that  I  would  gladly  agree  with  all 
the  world  to  lay  aside  the  use  of  arms,  and  settle  matters  by 
negotiation  ;  but  unless  the  whole  will,  the  matter  ends,  and 
I  take  up  my  musket  and  thank  heaven  he  has  put  it  in  my 
power. 

Whoever  considers  the  unprincipled  enemy  we  have  to 
cope  with,  will  not  hesitate  to  declare  that  nothing  but  arms 
or  miracles  can  reduce  them  to  reason  and  moderation. 
They  have  lost  sight  of  the  limits  of  humanity.  The  portrait 
of  a  parent  red  with  the  blood  of  her  children  is  a  picture  fit 
only  for  the  galleries  of  the  infernals.  From  the  House  of 
Commons  the  troops  of  Britain  have  been  exhorted  to  fight, 
not  for  the  defence  of  their  natural  rights,  not  to  repel  the 
invasion  or  the  insult  of  enemies ;  but  on  the  vilest  of  all 
pretences,  gold.  "  Ye  fight  for  solid  revenue  "  was  vocifer- 
ated in  the  House.    Thus  America  must  suffer  because  she 

'From  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  July,  1775.  Probably  by  Paine — Editor. 

55 


56 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i775 


has  something  to  lose.  Her  crime  is  property.  That  which 
allures  the  Highwayman  has  allured  the  ministry  under  a 
gentler  name.  But  the  position  laid  down  by  Lord  Sand- 
wich, is  a  clear  demonstration  of  the  justice  of  defensive 
arms.  The  Americans,  quoth  this  Quixote  of  modern  days, 
will  not  fight ;  therefore  we  will.  His  Lordship's  plan  when 
analized  amounts  to  this.  These  people  are  either  too 
superstitiously  religious,  or  too  cowardly  for  arms  ;  they 
either  cannot  or  dare  ?iot  defend  ;  their  property  is  open  to 
any  one  who  has  the  courage  to  attack  them.  Send  but  your 
troops  and  the  prize  is  ours.  Kill  a  few  and  take  the  whole. 
Thus  the  peaceable  part  of  mankind  will  be  continually  over- 
run by  the  vile  and  abandoned,  while  they  neglect  the 
means  of  self  defence.  The  supposed  quietude  of  a  good 
man  allures  the  rufifian  ;  while  on  the  other  hand,  arms  like 
laws  discourage  and  keep  the  invader  and  the  plunderer  in 
awe,  and  preserve  order  in  the  world  as  well  as  property. 
The  balance  of  power  is  the  scale  of  peace.  The  same 
balance  would  be  preserved  were  all  the  world  destitute  of 
arms,  for  all  would  be  alike ;  but  since  some  will  not,  others 
dare  not  lay  them  aside.  And  while  a  single  nation  refuses 
to  lay  them  down,  it  is  proper  that  all  should  keep  them  up. 
Horrid  mischief  would  ensue  were  one  half  the  world  de- 
prived of  the  use  of  them  ;  for  while  avarice  and  ambition 
have  a  place  in  the  heart  of  man,  the  weak  will  become  a 
prey  to  the  strong.  The  history  of  every  age  and  nation 
establishes  these  truths,  and  facts  need  but  little  arguments 
when  they  prove  themselves. 

But  there  is  a  point  to  view  this  matter  in  of  superior 
consequence  to  the  defence  of  property ;  and  that  point  is 
Liberty  in  all  its  meanings.  In  the  barbarous  ages  of  the 
world,  men  in  general  had  no  liberty.  The  strong  governed 
the  weak  at  will ;  'till  the  coming  of  Christ  there  was  no 
such  thing  as  political  freedom  in  any  known  part  of  the 
earth.  The  Jewish  kings  were  in  point  of  government  as 
absolute  as  the  Pharaohs.  Men  were  frequently  put  to 
death  without  trial  at  the  will  of  the  Sovereign.  The 


1775] 


THOUGHTS  ON  DEFENSIVE  WAR. 


57 


Romans  held  the  world  in  slavery,  and  were  themselves  the 
slaves  of  their  emperors.  The  madman  of  Macedon  governed 
by  caprice  and  passion,  and  stridcd  as  arrogantly  over  the 
world  as  if  he  had  made  and  peopled  it ;  and  it  is  needless 
to  imagine  that  other  nations  at  that  time  were  more 
refined.  Wherefore  political  as  well  as  spiritual  freedom  is 
the  gift  of  God  through  Christ.  The  second  in  the  catalogue 
of  blessings ;  and  so  intimately  related,  so  sympathetically 
united  with  the  first,  that  the  one  cannot  be  wounded  with- 
out communicating  an  injury  to  the  other.  Political  liberty 
is  the  visible  pass  which  guards  the  religions.  It  is  the 
outwork  by  which  the  church  militant  is  defended,  and  the 
attacks  of  the  enemy  are  frequently  made  through  this 
fortress.  The  same  power  which  has  established  a  restrain- 
ing Port  Bill  in  the  Colonies,  has  established  a  restraining 
Protestant  Church  Bill  in  Canada. 

I  had  the  pleasure  and  advantage  of  hearing  this  matter 
wisely  investigated,  by  a  gentleman,  in  a  sermon  to  one  of 
the  battalions  of  this  city ;  and  am  fully  convinced,  that 
spiritual  freedom  is  the  root  of  political  liberty. 

First.  Because  till  spiritual  freedom  was  made  manifest, 
political  liberty  did  not  exist. 

Secondly,  because  in  proportion  that  spiritual  freedom 
has  been  manifested, liberty  has  encreased. 

Thirdly.  Whenever  the  visible  church  has  been  oppressed, 
political  freedom  has  suffered  with  it.  Read  the  history  of 
Mary  and  the  Stuarts.  The  popish  world  at  this  day  by  not 
knowing  the  full  manifestation  of  spiritual  freedom,  enjoy 
but  a  shadow  of  political  liberty. — Though  I  am  unwilling 
to  accuse  the  present  government  of  popish  principles,  they 
cannot,  I  think,  be  clearly  acquitted  of  popish  practices  ;  the 
facility  with  which  they  perceive  the  dark  and  ignorant  are 
governed,  in  popish  nations,  will  always  be  a  temptation  to 
the  lovers  of  arbitrary  power  to  adopt  the  same  methods. 

As  the  union  between  spiritual  freedom  and  political 
liberty  seems  nearly  inseparable,  it  is  our  duty  to  defend 
both.    And  defence  in  the  first  instance  is  best.    The  lives 


58 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1775 


of  hundreds  of  both  countries  had  been  preserved  had 
America  been  in  arms  a  year  ago.  Our  enemies  have  mis- 
taken our  peace  for  cowardice,  and  supposing  us  unarmed 
have  begun  the  attack. 

A  Lover  of  Peace. 


XIII. 


AN  OCCASIONAL  LETTER  ON  THE  FEMALE  SEX." 

O  Woman  !  lovely  Woman  ! 
Nature  made  thee  to  temper  man, 
We  had  been  Brutes  without  you. 

Otway. 

If  we  take  a  survey  of  ages  and  of  countries,  we  shall  find 
the  women,  almost — without  exception — at  all  times  and  in 
all  places,  adored  and  oppressed.  Man,  who  has  never 
neglected  an  opportunity  of  exerting  his  power,  in  paying 
homage  to  their  beauty,  has  always  availed  himself  of  their 
weakness.  He  has  been  at  once  their  tyrant  and  their 
slave. 

Nature  herself,  in  forming  beings  so  susceptible  and 
tender,  appears  to  have  been  more  attentive  to  their  charms 
than  to  their  happiness.  Continually  surrounded  with  griefs 
and  fears,  the  women  more  than  share  all  our  miseries, 
and  are  besides  subjected  to  ills  which  are  peculiarly  their 
own.  They  cannot  be  the  means  of  life  without  exposing 
themselves  to  the  loss  of  it ;  every  revolution  which  they 
undergo,  alters  their  health,  and  threatens  their  existence. 
Cruel  distempers  attack  their  beauty — and  the  hour,  which 
confirms  their  release  from  those,  is  perhaps  the  most  melan- 
choly of  their  lives.  It  robs  them  of  the  most  essential 
characteristic  of  their  sex.  They  can  then  only  hope  for 
protection  from  the  humiliating  claims  of  pity,  or  the  feeble 
voice  of  gratitude. 

Society,  instead  of  alleviating  their  condition,  is  to  them 
the  source  of  new  miseries.  More  than  one  half  of  the  globe 

'From  the  Pennsylvania  Magazine,  August,  1775. — Editor. 
59 


€o  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1775 


is  covered  with  savages  ;  and  among  all  these  people  women 
are  completely  wretched.  Man,  in  a  state  of  barbarity, 
equally  cruel  and  indolent,  active  by  necessity,  but  naturally 
inclined  to  repose,  is  acquainted  with  little  more  than  the 
physical  effects  of  love  ;  and,  having  none  of  those  moral 
ideas  which  only  can  soften  the  empire  of  force,  he  is  led  to 
consider  it  as  his  supreme  law,  subjecting  to  his  despotism 
those  whom  reason  had  made  his  equal,  but  whose  imbecility 
betrayed  them  to  his  strength.  "  Nothing  "  (says  Professor 
Miller,  speaking  of  the  women  of  barbarous  nations)  "  can 
exceed  the  dependence  and  subjection  in  which  they  are 
kept,  or  the  toil  and  drudgery  which  they  are  obliged  to 
undergo.  The  husband,  when  he  is  not  engaged  in  some 
warlike  exercise,  indulges  himself  in  idleness,  and  devolves 
upon  his  wife  the  whole  burden  of  his  domestic  affairs.  He 
disdains  to  assist  her  in  any  of  those  servile  employments. 
She  sleeps  in  a  different  bed,  and  is  seldom  permitted  to  have 
any  conversation  or  correspondence  with  him." 

The  women  among  the  Indians  of  America  are  what  the 
Helots  were  among  the  Spartans,  a  vanquished  people, 
obliged  to  toil  for  their  conquerors.  Hence  on  the  banks  of 
the  Oroonoko,  we  have  seen  mothers  slaying  their  daughters 
out  of  compassion,  and  smothering  them  in  the  hour  of  their 
birth.    They  consider  this  barbarous  pity  as  a  virtue. 

"  The  men  (says  Commodore  Byron,  in  his  account  of  the  in- 
habitants of  South-America)  exercise  a  most  despotic  authority 
over  their  wives,  whom  they  consider  in  the  same  view  they  do 
any  other  part  of  their  property,  and  dispose  of  them  accord- 
ingly :  P2ven  their  common  treatment  of  them  is  cruel  ;  for 
though  the  toil  and  hazard  of  procuring  food  lies  entirely  on  the 
women,  yet  they  are  not  suffered  to  touch  any  part  of  it  till  the 
husband  is  satisfied  ;  and  then  he  assigns  them  their  portion, 
which  is  generally  very  scanty,  and  such  as  he  has  not  a  stomach 
for  himself." 

Among  the  nations  of  the  East  we  find  another  kind  of 
despotism  and  dominion  prevail — the  Seraglio,  and  the 
domestic  servitude  of  woman,  authorised  by  the  manners 


1775]  OCCASIONAL  LETTER  ON  THE  FEMALE  SEX.  6l 


and  established  by  the  laws.  In  Turkey,  in  Persia,  in  India, 
in  Japan,  and  over  the  vast  empire  of  China,  one  half  of 
the  human  species  is  oppressed  by  the  other. 

The  excess  of  oppression  in  those  countries  springs  from 
the  excess  of  love. 

All  Asia  is  covered  with  prisons,  where  beauty  in  bondage 
waits  the  caprices  of  a  master.  The  multitude  of  women 
there  assembled  have  no  will,  no  inclinations  but  his  :  Their 
triumphs  are  only  for  a  moment ;  and  their  rivalry,  their 
hate,  and  their  animosities,  continue  till  death.  There  the 
lovely  sex  are  obliged  to  repay  even  their  servitude  with  the 
most  tender  affections  ;  or,  what  is  still  more  mortifying, 
with  the  counterfeit  of  an  affection,  which  they  do  not  feel  : 
There  the  most  gloomy  tyranny  has  subjected  them  to 
creatures,  who,  being  of  neither  sex,  are  a  dishonour  to 
both :  There,  in  short,  their  education  tends  only  to  debase 
them  ;  their  virtues  are  forced  ;  their  very  pleasures  are  in- 
voluntary and  joyless  ;  and  after  an  existence  of  a  few  years 
— till  the  bloom  of  youth  is  over — their  period  of  neglect 
commences,  which  is  long  and  dreadful.  In  the  temperate 
latitude  where  the  climates,  giving  less  ardour  to  passion, 
leave  more  confidence  in  virtue,  the  women  have  not  been 
deprived  of  their  liberty,  but  a  severe  legislation  has,  at  all 
times,  kept  them  in  a  state  of  dependence.  One  while,  they 
were  confined  to  their  own  apartments,  and  debarred  at 
once  from  business  and  amusement ;  at  other  times,  a  tedious 
guardianship  defrauded  their  hearts,  and  insulted  their 
understandings.  Affronted  in  one  country  by  polygamy, 
which  gives  them  their  rivals  for  their  inseparable  compan- 
ions ;  inslaved  in  another  by  indissoluble  ties,  which  often 
join  the  gentle  to  the  rude,  and  sensibility  to  brutality : 
Even  in  countries  where  they  may  be  esteemed  most  happy, 
constrained  in  their  desires  in  the  disposal  of  their  goods, 
robbed  of  freedom  of  will  by  the  laws,  the  slaves  of  opinion, 
which  rules  them  with  absolute  sway,  and  construes  the 
slightest  appearances  into  guilt ;  surrounded  on  all  sides  by 
judges,  who  are  at  once  tyrants  and  their  seducers,  and  who, 
after  having  prepared  their  faults,  punish  every  lapse  with 


62 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1775 


dishonour — nay,  usurp  the  right  of  degrading  them  on  sus- 
picion !  Who  does  not  feel  for  the  tender  sex?  Yet  such, 
I  am  sorry  to  say,  is  the  lot  of  woman  over  the  whole  earth. 
Man  with  regard  to  them,  in  all  climates,  and  in  all  ages, 
has  been  either  an  insensible  husband  or  an  oppressor ;  but 
they  have  sometimes  experienced  the  cold  and  deliberate 
oppression  of  pride,  and  sometimes  the  violent  and  terrible 
tyranny  of  jealousy.  When  they  are  not  beloved  they  are 
nothing ;  and,  when  they  are,  they  are  tormented.  They 
have  almost  equal  cause  to  be  afraid  of  indifference  and  of 
love.  Over  three  quarters  of  the  globe  nature  has  placed 
them  between  contempt  and  misery. 

"  The  melting  desires,  or  the  fiery  passions,"  says  Professor 
Ferguson,  "  which  in  one  climate  take  place  between  the  sexes, 
are,  in  another,  changed  into  a  sober  consideration,  or  a  patience 
of  mutual  disgust.  This  change  is  remarked  in  crossing  the 
Mediterranean,  in  following  the  course  of  the  Mississippi,  in 
ascending  the  mountains  of  Caucasus,  and  in  passing  from  the 
Alps  and  the  Pyrenees  to  the  shores  of  the  Baltic. 

"  The  burning  ardours  and  torturing  jealousies  of  the  Seraglio 
and  Harem,  which  have  reigned  so  long  in  Asia  and  Africa,  and 
which,  in  the  southern  parts  of  Europe,  have  scarcely  given  way 
to  the  differences  of  religion  and  civil  establishments,  are  found, 
however,  with  an  abatement  of  heat  in  the  climate,  to  be  more 
easily  changed,  in  one  latitude,  into  a  temporary  passion,  which 
engrosses  the  mind  without  infeebling  it,  and  which  excites  to 
romantic  atchievments.  By  a  farther  progress  to  the  north  it  is 
changed  into  a  spirit  of  gallantry,  which  employs  the  wit  and 
fancy  more  than  the  heart,  which  prefers  intrigue  to  enjoyment, 
and  substitutes  affection  and  vanity  where  sentiment  and  desire 
have  failed.  As  it  departs  from  the  sun,  the  same  passion  is  far- 
ther composed  into  a  habit  of  domestic  connection,  or  frozen  into 
a  state  of  insensibility,  under  which  the  sexes  at  freedom  scarcely 
choose  to  unite  their  society." 

Even  among  people  where  beauty  received  the  highest 
homage,  we  find  men  who  would  deprive  the  sex  of  every 
kind  of  reputation:  "The  most  virtuous  woman,"  says  a 
celebrated  Greek,  "  is  she  who  is  least  talked  of."  That 


I77S]  OCCASIONAL  LETTER  ON  THE  FEMALE  SEX.  63 


morose  man,  while  he  imposes  duties  upon  women,  would 
deprive  them  of  the  sweets  of  public  esteem,  and  in  exact- 
ing virtues  from  them,  would  make  it  a  crime  to  aspire  at 
honour. 

If  a  woman  were  to  defend  the  cause  of  her  sex,  she 
might  address  him  in  the  following  manner : 

"  How  great  is  your  injustice  ?  If  we  have  an  equal  right 
with  you  to  virtue,  why  should  we  not  have  an  equal  right 
to  praise  ?  The  public  esteem  ought  to  wait  upon  merit. 
Our  duties  are  different  from  yours,  but  they  are  not  there- 
fore less  difificult  to  fulfil,  or  of  less  consequence  to  society : 
They  are  the  fountains  of  your  felicity,  and  the  sweetness  of 
life.  We  are  wives  and  mothers.  'T  is  we  who  form  the 
union  and  the  cordiality  of  families :  'T  is  we  who  soften 
that  savage  rudeness  which  considers  everything  as  due  to 
force,  and  which  would  involve  man  with  man  in  eternal 
war.  We  cultivate  in  you  that  humanity  which  makes  you 
feel  for  the  misfortunes  of  others,  and  our  tears  forewarn 
you  of  your  own  danger.  Nay,  you  cannot  be  ignorant  that 
we  have  need  of  courage  not  less  than  you  :  More  feeble  in 
ourselves,  we  have  perhaps  more  trials  to  encounter.  Na- 
ture assails  us  with  sorrow,  law  and  custom  press  us  with 
constraint,  and  sensibility  and  virtue  alarm  us  with  their 
continual  conflict.  Sometimes  also  the  name  of  citizen  de- 
mands from  us  the  tribute  of  fortitude.  When  you  offer 
your  blood  to  the  State  think  that  it  is  ours.  In  giving  it 
our  sons  and  our  husbands  we  give  more  than  ourselves. 
You  can  only  die  on  the  field  of  battle,  but  we  have  the 
misfortune  to  survive  those  whom  we  love  most.  Alas ! 
while  your  ambitious  vanity  is  unceasingly  labouring  to 
cover  the  earth  with  statues,  with  monuments,  and  with 
inscriptions  to  eternize,  if  possible,  your  names,  and  give 
yourselves  an  existence,  when  this  body  is  no  more,  why 
must  we  be  condemned  to  live  and  to  die  unknown  ?  Would 
that  the  grave  and  eternal  forgetfulness  should  be  our  lot. 
Be  not  our  tyrants  in  all :  Permit  our  names  to  be  some- 
times pronounced  beyond  the  narrow  circle  in  which  we 
live  :    Permit  friendship,  or  at  least  love,  to  inscribe  its  em- 


64 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1775 


blems  on  the  tomb  where  our  ashes  repose  ;  and  deny  us  not 
that  public  esteem  which,  after  the  esteem  of  one's  self,  is 
the  sweetest  reward  of  well  doing." 

All  men,  however,  it  must  be  owned,  have  not  been 
equally  unjust  to  their  fair  companions.  In  some  countries 
public  honours  have  been  paid  to  women.  Art  has  erected 
them  monuments.  Eloquence  has  celebrated  their  virtues, 
and  History  has  collected  whatever  could  adorn  their 
character. 


XIV. 


A  SERIOUS  THOUGHT.' 

When  I  reflect  on  the  horrid  cruelties  exercised  by  Britain 
in  the  East  Indies — How  thousands  perished  by  artificial 
famine — How  religion  and  every  manly  principle  of  honour 
and  honesty  were  sacrificed  to  luxury  and  pride — When  I 
read  of  the  wretched  natives  being  blown  away,  for  no  other 
crime  than  because,  sickened  with  the  miserable  scene,  they 
refused  to  fight — When  I  reflect  on  these  and  a  thousand 
instances  of  similar  barbarity,  I  firmly  believe  that  the  Al- 
mighty, in  compassion  to  mankind,  will  curtail  the  power  of 
Britain. 

And  when  I  reflect  on  the  use  she  hath  made  of  the  dis- 
covery of  this  new  world — that  the  little  paltry  dignity  of 
earthly  kings  hath  been  set  up  in  preference  to  the  great 
cause  of  the  King  of  kings — That  instead  of  Christian  ex- 
amples to  the  Indians,  she  hath  basely  tampered  with  their 
passions,  imposed  on  their  ignorance,  and  made  them  tools 
of  treachery  and  murder — And  when  to  these  and  many 
other  melancholy  reflections  I  add  this  sad  remark,  that 
ever  since  the  discovery  of  America  she  hath  employed  her- 
self in  the  most  horrid  of  all  trafifics,  that  of  human  flesh,  un- 
known to  the  most  savage  nations,  hath  yearly  (without 
provocation  and  in  cold  blood)  ravaged  the  hapless  shores  of 
Africa,  robbing  it  of  its  unoffending  inhabitants  to  cultivate 
her  stolen  dominions  in  the  West — When  I  reflect  on  these, 
I  hesitate  not  for  a  moment  to  believe  that  the  Almighty 

'  Pennsylvania  Journal,  October  l8,  1775.  This  was  probably  the  earliest 
anticipation  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  written  and  published  in 
America. — Editor. 

VOL.  I. — 5 

65 


66 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1775 


will  finally  separate  America  from  Britain.  Call  it  Inde- 
pendence or  what  you  will,  if  it  is  the  cause  of  God  and 
humanity  it  will  go  on. 

And  when  the  Almighty  shall  have  blest  us,  and  made  us 
a  people  dcpc7ident  only  upon  Him,  then  may  our  first  grati- 
tude be  shown  by  an  act  of  continental  legislation,  which 
shall  put  a  stop  to  the  importation  of  Negroes  for  sale,  soften 
the  hard  fate  of  those  already  here,  and  in  time  procure  their 
freedom. 

HUMANUS. 


XV. 


COMMON  SENSE." 

INTRODUCTION. 

Perhaps  the  sentiments  contained  in  the  following  pages, 
are  notj'et  sufficiently  fashionable  to  procure  them  general 
Favor;  along  Habit  of  not  thinking  a  Thing  wrong,  gives 
it  a  superficial  appearance  of  being  right,  and  raises  at 
first  a  formidable  outcry  in  defence  of  Custom.  But  the 
Tumult  soon  subsides.  Time  makes  more  Converts  than 
Reason. 

As  a  long  and  violent  abuse  of  power  is  generally  the 
means  of  calling  the  right  of  it  in  question,  (and  in  matters 
too  which  might  never  have  been  thought  of,  had  not  the 
sufferers  been  aggravated  into  the  inquiry,)  and  as  the  King 
of  England  hath  undertaken  in  his  own  right,  to  support  the 
Parliament  in  what  he  calls  Theirs,  and  as  the  good  People 
of  this  Country  are  grievously  oppressed  by  the  Combina- 
tion, they  have  an  undoubted  privilege  to  enquire  into  the 

'  This  pamphlet,  whose  effect  has  never  been  paralleled  in  literary  history, 
was  published  January  lo,  1776,  with  the  following  title  ; 

Common  Sense  :  Addressed  to  the  Inhabitants  of  America,  on  the  following 
Interesting  Subjects,  viz.:  I.  Of  the  Origin  and  Design  of  Government  in 
General  ;  with  Concise  Remarks  on  the  English  Constitution.  II.  Of  Mon- 
archy and  Hereditary  Succession.  III.  Thoughts  on  the  Present  State  of 
American  Affairs.  IV.  Of  the  Present  Ability  of  America  ;  with  some'^Iiscel- 
laneous  Reflections. 


Man  knows  no  master  save  creating  HEAVEN, 
Or  those  whom  choice  and  common  good  ordain. 

Thomson. 

Philadelphia  :    Printed,  and  Sold,  by  R.  Bell,  in  Third  Street,  mdcclxxvi. 

67 


68 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


Pretensions  of  both,  and  equally  to  reject  the  Usurpation  of 
either. 

In  the  following  Sheets,  the  Author  hath  studiously 
avoided  every  thing  which  is  personal  among  ourselves. 
Compliments  as  well  as  censure  to  individuals  make  no  part 
thereof.  The  wise  and  the  worthy  need  not  the  triumph  of 
a  Pamphlet ;  and  those  whose  sentiments  are  injudicious  or 
unfriendly  will  cease  of  themselves,  unless  too  much  pains  is 
bestowed  upon  their  conversions. 

The  cause  of  America  is  in  a  great  measure  the  cause  of 
all  mankind.  Many  circumstances  have,  and  will  arise, 
which  are  not  local,  but  universal,  and  through  which  the 
principles  of  all  lovers  of  mankind  are  affected,  and  in  the 
event  of  which  their  affections  are  interested.  The  laying  a 
country  desolate  with  fire  and  sword,  declaring  war  against 
the  natural  rights  of  all  mankind,  and  extirpating  the  de- 
fenders thereof  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  is  the  concern  of 
every  man  to  whom  nature  hath  given  the  power  of  feeling ; 
of  which  class,  regardless  of  party  censure,  is 

The  Author. 


Postscript  to  Preface  in  the  third  edition. 

P.  S.  The  Publication  of  this  new  Edition  hath  been 
delayed,  with  a  view  of  taking  notice  (had  it  been  necessary) 
of  any  attempt  to  refute  the  Doctrine  of  Independence  :  As 
no  answer  hath  yet  appeared,  it  is  now  presumed  that  none 
will,  the  time  needful  for  getting  such  a  Performance  ready 
for  the  Public  being  considerably  past. 

Who  the  Author  of  this  Production  is,  is  wholly  unneces- 
sary to  the  Public,  as  the  Object  for  Attention  is  the  Doctrine 
itself,  not  the  Man.  Yet  it  may  not  be  unnecessary  to  say, 
That  he  is  unconnected  with  any  party,  and  under  no  sort 
of  Influence,  public  or  private,  but  the  influence  of  reason 
and  principle. 

Philadelphia,  February  14,  1776. 


COMMON  SENSE. 


ON    THE   ORIGIN  AND    DESIGN  OF  GOVERNMENT  IN  GEN- 
ERAL, WITH  CONCISE  REMARKS  ON  THE  ENGLISH 
CONSTITUTION. 

Some  writers  have  so  confounded  society  with  government, 
as  to  leave  little  or  no  distinction  between  them  ;  whereas 
they  are  not  only  different,  but  have  different  origins. 
Society  is  produced  by  our  wants,  and  government  by  our 
wickedness  ;  the  former  promotes  our  happiness  possitivelyhy 
uniting  our  affections,  the  latter  negatively  by  restraining  our 
vices.  The  one  encourages  intercourse,  the  other  creates 
distinctions.    The  first  is  a  patron,  the  last  a  punisher. 

Society  in  every  state  is  a  blessing,  but  Government,  even 
in  its  best  state,  is  but  a  necessary  evil ;  in  its  worst  state  an 
intolerable  one  :  for  when  we  suffer,  or  are  exposed  to  the 
same  miseries  by  a  Government,  which  we  might  expect  in  a 
country  without  Government,  our  calamity  is  heightened  by 
reflecting  that  we  furnish  the  means  by  which  we  suffer. 
Government,  like  dress,  is  the  badge  of  lost  innocence  ;  the 
palaces  of  kings  are  built  upon  the  ruins  of  the  bowers  of 
paradise.  For  were  the  impulses  of  conscience  clear,  uni- 
form and  irresistibly  obeyed,  man  would  need  no  other  law- 
giver ;  but  that  not  being  the  case,  he  finds  it  necessary  to 
surrender  up  a  part  of  his  property  to  furnish  means  for  the 
protection  of  the  rest ;  and  this  he  is  induced  to  do  by  the 
same  prudence  which  in  every  other  case  advises  him,  out  of 
two  evils  to  choose  the  least.  Wherefore,  security  being  the 
true  design  and  end  of  government,  it  unanswerably  follows 
that  whatever  form  thereof  appears  most  likely  to  ensure 
it  to  us,  with  the  least  expence  and  greatest  benefit,  is 
preferable  to  all  others. 

69 


70 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


In  order  to  gain  a  clear  and  just  idea  of  the  design  and 
end  of  government,  let  us  suppose  a  small  number  of  per- 
sons settled  in  some  sequestered  part  of  the  earth,  uncon- 
nected with  the  rest ;  they  will  then  represent  the  first 
peopling  of  any  country,  or  of  the  world.  In  this  state  of  nat- 
ural liberty,  society  will  be  their  first  thought.  A  thousand 
motives  will  excite  them  thereto ;  the  strength  of  one  man 
is  so  unequal  to  his  wants,  and  his  mind  so  unfitted  for  per- 
petual solitude,  that  he  is  soon  obliged  to  seek  assistance 
and  relief  of  another,  who  in  his  turn  requires  the  same. 
Four  or  five  united  would  be  able  to  raise  a  tolerable  dwell- 
ing in  the  midst  of  a  wilderness,  but  one  man  might  labour 
out  the  common  period  of  life  without  accomplishing  any 
thing ;  when  he  had  felled  his  timber  he  could  not  remove  it, 
nor  erect  it  after  it  was  removed ;  hunger  in  the  mean  time 
would  urge  him  to  quit  his  work,  and  every  different  want 
would  call  him  a  different  way.  Disease,  nay  even  misfor- 
tune, would  be  death  ;  for  though  neither  might  be  mortal, 
yet  either  would  disable  him  from  living,  and  reduce  him  to  a 
state  in  which  he  might  rather  be  said  to  perish  than  to  die. 

Thus  necessity,  like  a  gravitating  power,  would  soon  form 
our  newly  arrived  emigrants  into  society,  the  reciprocal 
blessings  of  which  would  supercede,  and  render  the  obliga- 
tions of  law  and  government  unnecessary  while  they  re- 
mained perfectly  just  to  each  other  ;  but  as  nothing  but 
Heaven  is  impregnable  to  vice,  it  will  unavoidably  happen 
that  in  proportion  as  they  surmount  the  first  dif?iculties  of 
emigration,  which  bound  them  together  in  a  common  cause, 
they  will  begin  to  relax  in  their  duty  and  attachment  to 
each  other :  and  this  remissness  will  point  out  the  necessity 
of  establishing  some  form  of  government  to  supply  the 
defect  of  moral  virtue. 

Some  convenient  tree  will  afford  them  a  State  House,  under 
the  branches  of  which  the  whole  Colony  may  assemble  to 
deliberate  on  public  matters.  It  is  more  than  probable  that 
their  first  laws  will  have  the  title  only  of  Regulations  and  be 
enforced  by  no  other  penalty  than  public  disesteem.  In  this 
first  parliament  every  man  by  natural  right  will  have  a  seat. 


1776] 


COMMON  SENSE. 


71 


But  as  the  Colony  encreases,  the  public  concerns  will  en- 
crease  likewise,  and  the  distance  at  which  the  members  may 
be  separated,  will  render  it  too  inconvenient  for  all  of  them 
to  meet  on  every  occasion  as  at  first,  when  their  number  was 
small,  their  habitations  near,  and  the  public  concerns  few  and 
trifling.  This  will  point  out  the  convenience  of  their  con- 
senting to  leave  the  legislative  part  to  be  managed  by  a  se- 
lect number  chosen  from  the  whole  body,  who  are  supposed 
to  have  the  same  concerns  at  stake  which  those  have  who 
appointed  them,  and  who  will  act  in  the  same  manner  as  the 
whole  body  would  act  were  they  present.  If  the  colony 
continue  encreasing,  it  will  become  necessary  to  augment  the 
number  of  representatives,  and  that  the  interest  of  every 
part  of  the  colony  may  be  attended  to,  it  will  be  found  best 
to  divide  the  whole  into  convenient  parts,  each  part  sending 
its  proper  number  :  and  that  the  elected  might  never  form  to 
themselves  an  interest  separate  from  the  electors,  prudence 
will  point  out  the  propriety  of  having  elections  often :  be- 
cause as  the  elected  might  by  that  means  return  and  mix 
again  with  the  general  body  of  the  electors  in  a  few  months, 
their  fidelity  to  the  public  will  be  secured  by  the  prudent 
reflection  of  not  making  a  rod  for  themselves.  And  as  this 
frequent  interchange  will  establish  a  common  interest  with 
every  part  of  the  community,  they  will  mutually  and  natur- 
ally support  each  other,  and  on  this,  (not  on  the  unmeaning 
name  of  king,)  depends  the  strength  of  government,  and  the 
happiness  of  the  governed. 

Here  then  is  the  origin  and  rise  of  government ;  namely, 
a  mode  rendered  necessary  by  the  inability  of  moral  virtue 
to  govern  the  world  ;  here  too  is  the  design  and  end  of 
government,  viz.  Freedom  and  security.  And  however  our 
eyes  may  be  dazzled  with  show,  or  our  ears  deceived  by  sound ; 
however  prejudice  may  warp  our  wills,  or  interest  darken  our 
understanding,  the  simple  voice  of  nature  and  reason  will 
say,  'tis  right. 

I  draw  my  idea  of  the  form  of  government  from  a  princi- 
ple in  nature  which  no  art  can  overturn,  viz.  that  the  more 
simple  any  thing  is,  the  less  liable  it  is  to  be  disordered,  and 


72 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


the  easier  repaired  when  disordered  ;  and  with  this  maxim 
in  view  I  offer  a  few  remarks  on  the  so  much  boasted  consti- 
tution of  England.  That  it  was  noble  for  the  dark  and 
slavish  times  in  which  it  was  erected,  is  granted.  When  the 
world  was  overrun  with  tyranny  the  least  remove  therefrom 
was  a  glorious  rescue.  But  that  it  is  imperfect,  subject  to 
convulsions,  and  incapable  of  producing  what  it  seems  to 
promise,  is  easily  demonstrated. 

Absolute  governments,  (tho'  the  disgrace  of  human  na- 
ture) have  this  advantage  with  them,  they  are  simple  ;  if  the 
people  suffer,  they  know  the  head  from  which  their  suffering 
springs  ;  know  likewise  the  remedy  ;  and  are  not  bewildered 
by  a  variety  of  causes  and  cures.  But  the  constitution  of 
England  is  so  exceedingly  complex,  that  the  nation  may 
suffer  for  years  together  without  being  able  to  discover  in 
which  part  the  fault  lies  ;  some  will  say  in  one  and  some  in 
another,  and  every  political  physician  will  advise  a  different 
medicine. 

I  know  it  is  difificult  to  get  over  local  or  long  standing 
prejudices,  yet  if  we  will  suffer  ourselves  to  examine  the 
component  parts  of  the  English  constitution,  we  shall  find 
them  to  be  the  base  remains  of  two  ancient  tyrannies,  com- 
pounded with  some  new  Republican  materials. 

First. —  The  remains  of  Monarchical  tyranny  in  the  person 
of  the  King. 

Secondly. — The  remains  of  Aristocratical  tyranny  in  the 
persons  of  the  Peers. 

Thirdly.- — The  new  Republican  materials,  in  the  persons 
of  the  Commons,  on  whose  virtue  depends  the  freedom  of 
England. 

The  two  first,  by  being  hereditary,  are  independant  of  the 
People ;  wherefore  in  a  constitutional  sense  they  contribute 
nothing  towards  the  freedom  of  the  State. 

To  say  that  the  constitution  of  England  is  an  union  of  three 
powers,  reciprocally  checking  each  other,  is  farcical ;  either 
the  words  have  no  meaning,  or  they  are  flat  contradictions. 

To  say  that  the  Commons  is  a  check  upon  the  King,  pre- 
supposes two  things. 


1776]  COMMON  SENSE.  73 


First. — That  the  King  is  not  to  be  trusted  without  being 
looked  after  ;  or  in  other  words,  that  a  thirst  for  absolute 
power  is  the  natural  disease  of  monarchy. 

Secondly. — That  the  Commons,  by  being  appointed  for 
that  purpose,  are  either  wiser  or  more  worthy  of  confidence 
than  the  Crown. 

But  as  the  same  constitution  which  gives  the  Commons  a 
power  to  check  the  King  by  withholding  the  supplies,  gives 
afterwards  the  King  a  power  to  check  the  Commons,  by  em- 
powering him  to  reject  their  other  bills ;  it  again  supposes 
that  the  King  is  wiser  than  those  whom  it  has  already  sup- 
posed to  be  wiser  than  him.    A  mere  absurdity  ! 

There  is  something  exceedingly  ridiculous  in  the  compo- 
sition of  Monarchy  ;  it  first  excludes  a  man  from  the  means 
of  information,  yet  empowers  him  to  act  in  cases  where  the 
highest  judgment  is  required.  The  state  of  a  king  shuts 
him  from  the  World,  yet  the  business  of  a  king  requires  him 
to  know  it  thoroughly;  wherefore  the  different  parts,  by 
unnaturally  opposing  and  destroying  each  other,  prove  the 
whole  character  to  be  absurd  and  useless. 

Some  writers  have  explained  the  English  constitution 
thus :  the  King,  say  they,  is  one,  the  people  another ;  the 
Peers  are  a  house  in  behalf  of  the  King,  the  commons  in 
behalf  of  the  people;  but  this  hath  all  the  distinctions  of  a 
house  divided  against  itself ;  and  though  the  expressions  be 
pleasantly  arranged,  yet  when  examined  they  appear  idle  and 
ambiguous ;  and  it  will  always  happen,  that  the  nicest  construc- 
tion that  words  are  capable  of,  when  applied  to  the  description 
of  something  which  either  cannot  exist,  or  is  too  incompre- 
hensible to  be  within  the  compass  of  description,  will  be 
words  of  sound  only,  and  though  they  may  amuse  the  ear, 
they  cannot  inform  the  mind  :  for  this  explanation  includes 
a  previous  question,  viz.  how  came  the  king  by  a  power  which 
the  people  are  afraid  to  trust,  and  alzvays  obliged  to  check? 
Such  a  power  could  not  be  the  gift  of  a  wise  people,  neither 
can  any  power,  zvJiich  needs  checking,  be  from  God  ;  yet  the 
provision  which  the  constitution  makes  supposes  such  a 
power  to  exist. 


74 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


But  the  provision  is  unequal  to  the  task  ;  the  means  either 
cannot  or  will  not  accomplish  the  end,  and  the  whole  affair 
is  a  Fclo  dese :  for  as  the  greater  weight  will  always  carry  up 
the  less,  and  as  all  the  wheels  of  a  machine  are  put  in  motion 
by  one,  it  only  remains  to  know  which  power  in  the 
constitution  has  the  most  weight,  for  that  will  govern :  and 
tho'  the  others,  or  a  part  of  them,  may  clog,  or,  as  the  phrase 
is,  check  the  rapidity  of  its  motion,  yet  so  long  as  they  can- 
not stop  it,  their  endeavours  will  be  ineffectual :  The  first 
moving  power  will  at  last  have  its  way,  and  what  it  wants  in 
speed  is  supplied  by  time. 

That  the  crown  is  this  overbearing  part  in  the  English 
constitution  needs  not  be  mentioned,  and  that  it  derives  its 
whole  consequence  merely  from  being  the  giver  of  places 
and  pensions  is  self-evident ;  wherefore,  though  we  have 
been  wise  enough  to  shut  and  lock  a  door  against  absolute 
Monarchy,  we  at  the  same  time  have  been  foolish  enough  to 
put  the  Crown  in  possession  of  the  key. 

The  prejudice  of  Englishmen,  in  favour  of  their  own 
government,  by  King,  Lords  and  Commons,  arises  as  much 
or  more  from  national  pride  than  reason.  Individuals  are 
undoubtedly  safer  in  England  than  in  some  other  countries  : 
but  the  will  of  the  king  is  as  much  the  law  of  the  land  in 
Britain  as  in  France,  with  this  difference,  that  instead  of  pro- 
ceeding directly  from  his  mouth,  it  is  handed  to  the  people 
under  the  formidable  shape  of  an  act  of  parliament.  For  the 
fate  of  Charles  the  First  hath  only  made  kings  more  subtle 
— not  more  just. 

Wherefore,  laying  aside  all  national  pride  and  prejudice  in 
favour  of  modes  and  forms,  the  plain  truth  is  that  it  is  wholly 
owing  to  the  constitution  of  the  people,  and  not  to  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  government  that  the  crown  is  not  as  oppressive  in 
England  as  in  Turkey. 

An  inquiry  into  the  constitutional  errors  in  the  English 
form  of  government,  is  at  this  time  highly  necessary ;  for  as 
we  are  never  in  a  proper  condition  of  doing  justice  to  others, 
while  we  continue  under  the  influence  of  some  leading 
partiality,  so  neither  are  we  capable   of  doing  it  to  our- 


1776] 


COMMON  SENSE. 


75 


selves  while  we  remain  fettered  by  any  obstinate  prejudice. 
And  as  a  man  who  is  attached  to  a  prostitute  is  unfitted 
to  choose  or  judge  of  a  wife,  so  any  prepossession  in 
favour  of  a  rotten  constitution  of  government  will  disable  us 
from  discerning  a  good  one. 

OF  MONARCHY  AND  HEREDITARY  SUCCESSION. 

Mankind  being  originally  equals  in  the  order  of  creation, 
the  equality  could  only  be  destroyed  by  some  subsequent 
circumstance  :  the  distinctions  of  rich  and  poor  may  in  a 
great  measure  be  accounted  for,  and  that  without  having 
recourse  to  the  harsh  ill-sounding  names  of  oppression  and 
avarice.  Oppression  is  often  the  consequence,  but  seldom  or 
never  the  means  of  riches ;  and  tho'  avarice  will  preserve  a 
man  from  being  necessitously  poor,  it  generally  makes  him 
too  timorous  to  be  wealthy. 

But  there  is  another  and  greater  distinction  for  which  no 
truly  natural  or  religious  reason  can  be  assigned,  and  that 
is  the  distinction  of  men  into  Kings  and  SUBJECTS.  Male 
and  female  are  the  distinctions  of  nature,  good  and  bad  the 
distinctions  of  Heaven  ;  but  how  a  race  of  men  came  into  the 
world  so  exalted  above  the  rest,  and  distinguished  like  some 
new  species,  is  worth  inquiring  into,  and  whether  they  are  the 
means  of  happiness  or  of  misery  to  mankind. 

In  the  early  ages  of  the  world,  according  to  the  scripture 
chronology  there  were  no  kings ;  the  consequence  of  which 
was,  there  were  no  wars ;  it  is  the  pride  of  kings  which 
throws  mankind  into  confusion.  Holland,  without  a  king 
hath  enjoyed  more  peace  for  this  last  century  than  any  of 
the  monarchical  governments  in  Europe.  Antiquity  favours 
the  same  remark ;  for  the  quiet  and  rural  lives  of  the  first 
Patriarchs  have  a  happy  something  in  them,  which  vanishes 
when  we  come  to  the  history  of  Jewish  royalty. 

Government  by  kings  was  first  introduced  into  the  world 
by  the  Heathens,  from  whom  the  children  of  Israel  copied 
the  custom.  It  was  the  most  prosperous  invention  the 
Devil  ever  set  on  foot  for  the  promotion  of  idolatry.  The 


76 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


Heathens  paid  divine  honours  to  their  deceased  kings,  and 
the  Christian  World  hath  improved  on  the  plan  by  doing 
the  same  to  their  living  ones.  How  impious  is  the  title  of 
sacred  Majesty  applied  to  a  worm,  who  in  the  midst  of  his 
splendor  is  crumbling  into  dust ! 

As  the  exalting  one  man  so  greatly  above  the  rest  cannot 
be  justified  on  the  equal  rights  of  nature,  so  neither  can  it 
be  defended  on  the  authority  of  scripture ;  for  the  will  of 
the  Almighty  as  declared  by  Gideon,  and  the  prophet 
Samuel,  expressly  disapproves  of  government  by  Kings. 
All  anti-monarchical  parts  of  scripture,  have  been  very 
smoothly  glossed  over  in  monarchical  governments,  but  they 
undoubtedly  merit  the  attention  of  countries  which  have  their 
governments  yet  to  form.  Render  unto  Cesar  the  tilings  which 
are  Cesar's,  is  the  scripture  doctrine  of  courts,  yet  it  is  no  sup- 
port of  monarchical  government,  for  the  Jews  at  that  time 
were  without  a  king,  and  in  a  state  of  vassalage  to  the  Romans. 

Near  three  thousand  years  passed  away,  from  the  Mosaic 
account  of  the  creation,  till  the  Jews  under  a  national  delu- 
sion requested  a  king.  Till  then  their  form  of  government 
(except  in  extraordinary  cases  where  the  Almighty  inter- 
posed) was  a  kind  of  Republic,  administered  by  a  judge  and 
the  elders  of  the  tribes.  Kings  they  had  none,  and  it  was 
held  sinful  to  acknowledge  any  being  under  that  title  but 
the  Lord  of  Hosts.  And  when  a  man  seriously  reflects  on 
the  idolatrous  homage  which  is  paid  to  the  persons  of  kings, 
he  need  not  wonder  that  the  Almighty,  ever  jealous  of  his 
honour,  should  disapprove  a  form  of  government  which  so 
impiously  invades  the  prerogative  of  Heaven. 

Monarchy  is  ranked  in  scripture  as  one  of  the  sins  of  the 
Jews,  for  which  a  curse  in  reserve  is  denounced  against 
them.  The  history  of  that  transaction  is  worth  attending  to. 

The  children  of  Israel  being  oppressed  by  the  Midianites, 
Gideon  marched  against  them  with  a  small  army,  and 
victory  thro'  the  divine  interposition  decided  in  his  favour. 
The  Jews,  elate  with  success,  and  attributing  it  to  the 
generalship  of  Gideon,  proposed  making  him  a  king,  saying, 
Ru/c  thou  over  11s,  thou  and  thy  son,  and  thy  sons  son.  Here 


1776] 


COMMON  SENSE. 


77 


was  temptation  in  its  fullest  extent ;  not  a  kingdom  only, 
but  an  hereditary  one ;  but  Gideon  in  the  piety  of  his  soul 
replied,  I  luill  not  rule  over  yoji,  neitlier  shall  my  so7i  rule  over 
you.  THE  LORD  SHALL  RULE  OVER  YOU.  Words  need 
not  be  more  explicit  ;  Gideon  doth  not  decline  the  honour, 
but  denieth  their  right  to  give  it ;  neither  doth  he  compli- 
ment them  with  invented  declarations  of  his  thanks,  but  in 
the  positive  stile  of  a  prophet  charges  them  with  disafTection 
to  their  proper  Sovereign,  the  King  of  Heaven. 

About  one  hundred  and  thirty  years  after  this,  they  fell 
again  into  the  same  error.  The  hankering  which  the  Jews 
had  for  the  idolatrous  customs  of  the  Heathens,  is  some- 
thing exceedingly  unaccountable ;  but  so  it  was,  that  laying 
hold  of  the  misconduct  of  Samuel's  two  sons,  who  were 
intrusted  with  some  secular  concerns,  they  came  in  an 
abrupt  and. clamorous  manner  to  Samuel,  saying,  Behold  thou 
art  old,  and  thy  sons  zvalk  not  m  thy  ways,  tioiv  make  us  a 
king  to  judge  us  like  all  the  other  nations.  And  here  we  can- 
not but  observe  that  their  motives  were  bad,  viz.  that  they 
might  be  like  unto  other  nations,  i.  e.  the  Heathens,  whereas 
their  true  glory  lay  in  being  as  much  unlike  them  as  possible. 
But  the  tiling  displeased  Samuel  when  they  said,  give  us  a 
King  to  judge  us  ;  and  Samuel  prayed  unto  the  Lord,  and  the 
Lord  said  unto  Samuel,  hearken  unto  the  voice  oj  the  people  in 
all  that  they  say  unto  thee,  for  they  have  not  rejected  thee,  but 
they  have  rejected  me,  THAT  I  SHOULD  NOT  REIGN  OVER 
THEM.  According  to  all  the  works  wJiich  they  have  done  since 
the  day  that  I  brought  them  tip  out  of  Egypt  even  unto  this 
day,  wherewith  they  have  forsaken  me,  and  served  other  Gods  : 
so  do  they  also  unto  thee.  Now  therefore  hearken  unto  their 
voice,  howbeit,  protest  solemnly  unto  them  and  show  them  the 
mamier  of  the  King  that  shall  reign  over  them,  i.  e.  not  of 
any  particular  King,  but  the  general  manner  of  the  Kings 
of  the  earth  whom  Israel  was  so  eagerly  copying  after.  And 
notwithstanding  the  great  distance  of  time  and  difference  of 
manners,  the  character  is  still  in  fashion.  And  Samuel  told 
all  the  words  of  the  Lord  unto  the  people,  that  asked  of  him  a 
King.  And  he  said,  This  shall  be  the  manner  of  the  King  that 


78 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


shall  reign  over  you.  He  will  take  your  sons  and  appoint  them 
for  himself  for  his  chariots  and  to  be  his  horsemen,  and  some 
shall  run  before  his  chariots  (this  description  agrees  with  the 
present  mode  of  impressing  men)  and  he  will  appoint  him 
captains  over  thousands  and  captains  over  fifties,  will  set  them 
to  ear  his  ground  and  to  reap  his  harvest,  and  to  make  his 
instruments  of  zvar,  and  instruments  of  his  chariots.  And  he 
will  take  your  daughters  to  be  confectionaries,  and  to  be  cooks, 
and  to  be  bakers  (this  describes  the  expense  and  luxury  as 
well  as  the  oppression  of  Kings)  and  he  will  take  your  fields 
and  your  viticyards,  and  your  olive  yards,  even  the  best  of 
thcni,  and  give  them  to  his  servants.  And  he  will  take  the 
tenth  of  your  seed,  and  of  your  vineyards,  and  give  them  to  his 
officers  and  to  his  servaitts  (by  which  we  see  that  bribery,  cor- 
ruption, and  favouritism,  are  the  standing  vices  of  Kings) 
and  he  will  take  the  tenth  of  your  men  servants,  and  your 
maid  servants,  and  your  goodliest  young  men,  and  your  asses, 
and  put  them  to  his  work  :  and  he  will  take  the  tenth  of  your 
sheep,  and  ye  shall  be  his  servants,  and  ye  shall  cry  out  in  that 
day  because  of  your  king  luJiich  ye  shall  have  chosen,  AND  THE 
LORD  WILL  NOT  HEAR  YOU  IN  THAT  DAY.  This  accounts 
for  the  continuation  of  Monarchy  ;  neither  do  the  characters 
of  the  few  good  kings  which  have  lived  since,  either  sanctify 
the  title,  or  blot  out  the  sinfulness  of  the  origin ;  the  high 
encomium  given  of  David  takes  no  notice  of  him  officially  as 
a  King,  but  only  as  a  Man  after  God's  own  heart.  Never- 
theless the  people  refused  to  obey  the  voice  of  Samuel,  and  they 
said,  Nay  but  zve  will  have  a  king  over  us,  that  we  may  be 
like  all  the  nations,  and  that  our  king  may  judge  us,  and  go 
out  before  us  and  fight  our  battles.  Samuel  continued  to 
reason  with  them  but  to  no  purpose  ;  he  set  before  them 
their  ingratitude,  but  all  would  not  avail  ;  and  seeing  them 
fully  bent  on  their  folly,  he  cried  out,  /  ivill  call  unto  the 
Lord,  and  he  shall  send  thunder  and  rain  (which  was  then  a 
punishment,  being  in  the  time  of  wheat  harvest)  that  ye  may 
perceive  and  see  that  your  wickedness  is  great  which  ye  have 
done  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  IN  ASKING  YOU  A  KING.  So 
Samuel  called  unto  the  Lord,  and  the  Lord  sent  thunder  and 


COMMON  SENSE. 


79 


rain  that  day,  and  all  the  people  greatly  feared  the  Lord  and 
Samuel.  Attd  all  the  people  said  unto  Samuel,  Pray  for  thy 
servants  unto  the  Lord  thy  God  that  we  die  not,  for  WE  HAVE 
ADDED  UNTO  OUR  SINS  THIS  EVIL,  TO  ASK  A  KING.  These 
portions  of  scripture  are  direct  and  positive.  They  admit 
of  no  equivocal  construction.  That  the  Almighty  hath  here 
entered  his  protest  against  monarchical  government  is  true, 
or  the  scripture  is  false.  And  a  man  hath  good  reason  to 
believe  that  there  is  as  much  of  kingcraft  as  priestcraft  in 
withholding  the  scripture  from  the  public  in  popish  coun- 
tries. For  monarchy  in  every  instance  is  the  popery  of 
government. 

To  the  evil  of  monarchy  we  have  added  that  of  hereditary 
succession;  and  as  the  first  is  a  degradation  and  lessening  of 
ourselves,  so  the  second,  claimed  as  a  matter  of  right,  is 
an  insult  and  imposition  on  posterity.  For  all  men  being 
originally  equals,  no  one  by  birth  could  have  a  right  to  set 
up  his  own  family  in  perpetual  preference  to  all  others  for 
ever,  and  tho'  himself  might  deserve  some  decent  degree  of 
honours  of  his  cotemporaries,  yet  his  descendants  might  be 
far  too  unworthy  to  inherit  them.  One  of  the  strongest 
natural  proofs  of  the  folly  of  hereditary  right  in  Kings, 
is  that  nature  disapproves  it,  otherwise  she  would  not  so 
frequently  turn  it  into  ridicule,  by  giving  mankind  an  Ass 
for  a  Lion. 

Secondly,  as  no  man  at  first  could  possess  any  other  pub- 
lic honors  than  were  bestowed  upon  him,  so  the  givers  of 
those  honors  could  have  no  power  to  give  away  the  right  of 
posterity,  and  though  they  might  say  "  We  choose  you 
for  our  head,"  they  could  not  without  manifest  injustice  to 
their  children  say  "that  your  children  and  your  children's 
children  shall  reign  over  ours  forever."  Because  such  an  un- 
wise, unjust,  unnatural  compact  might  (perhaps)  in  the  next 
succession  put  them  under  the  government  of  a  rogue  or  a 
fool.  Most  wise  men  in  their  private  sentiments  have  ever 
treated  hereditary  right  with  contempt ;  yet  it  is  one  of 
those  evils  which  when  once  established  is  not  easily  re- 
moved :  many  submit  from  fear,  others  from  superstition, 


8o 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


and  the  more  powerful  part  shares  with  the  king  the  plunder 
of  the  rest. 

This  is  supposing  the  present  race  of  kings  in  the  world 
to  have  had  an  honorable  origin :  whereas  it  is  more  than 
probable,  that,  could  we  take  off  the  dark  covering  of  anti- 
quity and  trace  them  to  their  first  rise,  we  should  find  the 
first  of  them  nothing  better  than  the  principal  rufifian  of  some 
restless  gang,  whose  savage  manners  or  pre-eminence  in 
subtilty  obtained  him  the  title  of  chief  among  plunderers : 
and  who  by  increasing  in  power  and  extending  his  depreda- 
tions, overawed  the  quiet  and  defenceless  to  purchase  their 
safety  by  frequent  contributions.  Yet  his  electors  could 
have  no  idea  of  giving  hereditary  right  to  his  descendants, 
because  such  a  perpetual  exclusion  of  themselves  was  in- 
compatible with  the  free  and  unrestrained  principles  they 
professed  to  live  by.  Wherefore,  hereditary  succession  in 
the  early  ages  of  monarchy  could  not  take  place  as  a  matter 
of  claim,  but  as  something  casual  or  complemental ;  but  as 
few  or  no  records  were  extant  in  those  days,  and  traditionary 
history  stuff'd  with  fables,  it  was  very  easy,  after  the  lapse 
of  a  few  generations,  to  trump  up  some  superstitious  tale 
conveniently  timed,  Mahomet-like,  to  cram  hereditary  right 
down  the  throats  of  the  vulgar.  Perhaps  the  disorders 
which  threatened,  or  seemed  to  threaten,  on  the  decease  of 
a  leader  and  the  choice  of  a  new  one  (for  elections  among 
ruffians  could  not  be  very  orderly)  induced  many  at  first  to 
favour  hereditary  pretensions  ;  by  which  means  it  happened, 
as  it  hath  happened  since,  that  what  at  first  was  submitted 
to  as  a  convenience  was  afterwards  claimed  as  a  right. 

England  since  the  conquest  hath  known  some  few  good 
monarchs,  but  groaned  beneath  a  much  larger  number  of 
bad  ones:  yet  no  man  in  his  senses  can  say  that  their  claim 
under  William  the  Conqueror  is  a  very  honourable  one.  A 
French  bastard  landing  with  an  armed  Banditti  and  estab- 
lishing himself  king  of  England  against  the  consent  of  the 
natives,  is  in  plain  terms  a  very  paltry  rascally  original.  It 
certainly  hath  no  divinity  in  it.  However  it  is  needless 
to  spend  much  time  in  exposing  the  folly  of  hereditary 


1776]  COMMON  SENSE.  8 1 


right ;  if  there  are  any  so  weak  as  to  believe  it,  let  them 
promiscuously  worship  the  Ass  and  the  Lion,  and  welcome.  I 
shall  neither  copy  their  humility,  nor  disturb  their  devotion. 

Yet  I  should  be  glad  to  ask  how  they  suppose  kings  came 
at  first  ?  The  question  admits  but  of  three  answers,  viz. 
either  by  lot,  by  election,  or  by  usurpation.  If  the  first 
king  was  taken  by  lot,  it  establishes  a  precedent  for  the  next, 
which  excludes  hereditary  succession.  Saul  was  by  lot,  yet 
the  succession  was  not  hereditary,  neither  does  it  appear 
from  that  transaction  that  there  was  any  intention  it  ever 
should.  If  the  first  king  of  any  country  was  by  election, 
that  likewise  establishes  a  precedent  for  the  next ;  for  to  say, 
that  the  right  of  all  future  generations  is  taken  away,  by  the 
act  of  the  first  electors,  in  their  choice  not  only  of  a  king  but 
of  a  family  of  kings  for  ever,  hath  no  parallel  in  or  out  of 
scripture  but  the  doctrine  of  original  sin,  which  supposes 
the  free  will  of  all  men  lost  in  Adam  ;  and  from  such  com- 
parison, and  it  will  admit  of  no  other,  hereditary  succession 
can  derive  no  glory.  For  as  in  Adam  all  sinned,  and  as  in  the 
first  electors  all  men  obeyed  ;  as  in  the  one  all  mankind  were 
subjected  to  Satan,  and  in  the  other  to  sovereignty  ;  as  our 
innocence  was  lost  in  the  first,  and  our  authority  in  the  last ; 
and  as  both  disable  us  from  re-assuming  some  former  state 
and  privilege,  it  unanswerably  follows  that  original  sin  and 
hereditary  succession  are  parallels.  Dishonourable  rank ! 
inglorious  connection  !  yet  the  most  subtle  sophist  cannot 
produce  a  juster  simile. 

As  to  usurpation,  no  man  will  be  so  hardy  as  to  defend  it ; 
and  that  William  the  Conqueror  was  an  usurper  is  a  fact  not 
to  be  contradicted.  The  plain  truth  is,  that  the  antiquity  of 
English  monarchy  will  not  bear  looking  into. 

But  it  is  not  so  much  the  absurdity  as  the  evil  of  hereditary 
succession  which  concerns  mankind.  Did  it  ensure  a  race  of 
good  and  wise  men  it  would  have  the  seal  of  divine  author- 
ity, but  as  it  opens  a  door  to  the  foolish,  the  wicked,  and  the 
improper,  it  hath  in  it  the  nature  of  oppression.  Men  who 
look  upon  themselves  born  to  reign,  and  others  to  obey, 
soon  grow  insolent.    Selected  from  the  rest  of  mankind,  their 

VOL.  I. — 6 


82 


minds  are  early  poisoned  by  importance  ;  and  the  world  they 
act  in  differs  so  materially  from  the  world  at  large,  that  they 
have  but  little  opportunity  of  knowing  its  true  interests,  and 
when  they  succeed  to  the  government  are  frequently  the 
most  ignorant  and  unfit  of  any  throughout  the  dominions. 

Another  evil  which  attends  hereditary  succession  is,  that 
the  throne  is  subject  to  be  possessed  by  a  minor  at  any  age ; 
all  which  time  the  regency  acting  under  the  cover  of  a  king 
have  every  opportunity  and  inducement  to  betray  their 
trust.  The  same  national  misfortune  happens  when  a  king 
worn  out  with  age  and  infirmity  enters  the  last  stage  of 
human  weakness.  In  both  these  cases  the  public  becomes 
a  prey  to  every  miscreant  who  can  tamper  successfully  with 
the  follies  either  of  age  or  infancy. 

The  most  plausible  plea  which  hath  ever  been  offered  in 
favor  of  hereditary  succession  is,  that  it  preserves  a  nation 
from  civil  wars ;  and  were  this  true,  it  would  be  weighty ; 
whereas  it  is  the  most  bare-faced  falsity  ever  imposed  upon 
mankind.  The  whole  history  of  England  disowns  the  fact. 
Thirty  kings  and  two  minors  have  reigned  in  that  distracted 
kingdom  since  the  conquest,  in  which  time  there  has  been 
(including  the  revolution)  no  less  than  eight  civil  wars  and 
nineteen  Rebellions.  Wherefore  instead  of  making  for  peace, 
it  makes  against  it,  and  destroys  the  very  foundation  it  seems 
to  stand  upon. 

The  contest  for  monarchy  and  succession,  between  the 
houses  of  York  and  Lancaster,  laid  England  in  a  scene  of 
blood  for  many  years.  Twelve  pitched  battles  besides  skir- 
mishes and  sieges  were  fought  between  Henry  and  Edward. 
Twice  was  Henry  prisoner  to  Edward,  who  in  his  turn  was 
prisoner  to  Henry.  And  so  uncertain  is  the  fate  of  war  and 
the  temper  of  a  nation,  when  nothing  but  personal  matters 
are  the  ground  of  a  quarrel,  that  Henry  was  taken  in  triumph 
from  a  prison  to  a  palace,  and  Edward  obliged  to  fly  from  a 
palace  to  a  foreign  land  ;  yet,  as  sudden  transitions  of  tem- 
per are  seldom  lasting,  Henry  in  his  turn  was  driven  from 
the  throne,  and  Edward  re-called  to  succeed  him.  The  par- 
liament always  following  the  strongest  side. 


1776] 


COMMON  SENSE. 


83 


This  contest  began  in  the  reign  of  Henry  the  Sixth,  and 
was  not  entirely  extinguished  till  Henry  the  Seventh,  in 
whom  the  families  were  united.  Including  a  period  of  67 
years,  viz.  from  1422  to  1489. 

In  short,  monarchy  and  succession  have  laid  (not  this  or 
that  kingdom  only)  but  the  world  in  blood  and  ashes.  'Tis 
a  form  of  government  which  the  word  of  God  bears  testimony 
against,  and  blood  will  attend  it. 

If  we  enquire  into  the  business  of  a  King,  we  shall  find  that 
in  some  countries  they  may  have  none  ;  and  after  sauntering 
away  their  lives  without  pleasure  to  themselves  or  advantage 
to  the  nation,  withdraw  from  the  scene,  and  leave  their  suc- 
cessors to  tread  the  same  idle  round.  In  absolute  monarchies 
the  whole  weight  of  business  civil  and  military  lies  on  the 
King;  the  children  of  Israel  in  their  request  for  a  king  urged 
this  plea,  "  that  he  may  judge  us,  and  go  out  before  us  and 
fight  our  battles."  But  in  countries  where  he  is  neither  a 
Judge  nor  a  General,  as  in  England,  a  man  would  bepuzzled 
to  know  what  is  his  business. 

The  nearer  any  government  approaches  to  a  Republic,  the 
less  business  there  is  for  a  King.  It  is  somewhat  difficult  to 
find  a  proper  name  for  the  government  of  England.  Sir  Wil- 
liam Meredith  calls  it  a  Republic  ;  but  in  its  present  state  it 
is  unworthy  of  the  name,  because  the  corrupt  influence  of 
the  Crown,  by  having  all  the  places  in  its  disposal,  hath  so 
effectually  swallowed  up  the  power,  and  eaten  out  the  virtue 
of  the  House  of  Commons  (the  Republican  part  in  the  con- 
stitution) that  the  government  of  England  is  nearly  as  mon- 
archical as  that  of  France  or  Spain.  Men  fall  out  with  names 
without  understanding  them.  For  'tis  the  Republican  and 
not  the  Monarchical  part  of  the  constitution  of  England 
which  Englishmen  glory  in,  viz.  the  liberty  of  choosing  an 
House  of  Commons  from  out  of  their  own  body — and  it  is 
easy  to  see  that  when  Republican  virtues  fails,  slavery  en- 
sues. Why  is  the  constitution  of  England  sickly,  but  because 
monarchy  hath  poisoned  the  Republic  ;  the  Crown  hath 
engrossed  the  Commons. 

In  England  a  King  hath  little  more  to  do  than  to  make 

VOL.  I. — 6 


84 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


war  and  give  away  places ;  which,  in  plain  terms,  is  to  em- 
poverish  the  nation  and  set  it  together  by  the  ears.  A  pretty 
business  indeed  for  a  man  to  be  allowed  eight  hundred  thou- 
sand sterling  a  year  for,  and  worshipped  into  the  bargain ! 
Of  more  worth  is  one  honest  man  to  society,  and  in  the  sight 
of  God,  than  all  the  crowned  ruffians  that  ever  lived. 

THOUGHTS   ON  THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  AMERICAN 
AFFAIRS. 

In  the  following  pages  I  offer  nothing  more  than  simple 
facts,  plain  arguments,  and  common  sense :  and  have  no 
other  preliminaries  to  settle  with  the  reader,  than  that  he 
will  divest  himself  of  prejudice  and  prepossession,  and  suffer 
his  reason  and  his  feelings  to  determine  for  themselves  :  that 
he  will  put  on,  or  rather  that  he  will  not  put  off,  the  true 
character  of  a  man,  and  generously  enlarge  his  views  beyond 
the  present  day. 

Volumes  have  been  written  on  the  subject  of  the  struggle 
between  England  and  America.  Men  of  all  ranks  have  em- 
barked in  the  controversy,  from  different  motives,  and  with 
various  designs  ;  but  all  have  been  ineffectual,  and  the  period 
of  debate  is  closed.  Arms  as  the  last  resource  decide  the 
contest ;  the  appeal  was  the  choice  of  the  King,  and  the 
Continent  has  accepted  the  challenge. 

It  hath  been  reported  of  the  late  Mr.  Pelham  (who  tho'  an 
able  minister  was  not  without  his  faults)  that  on  his  being 
attacked  in  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  score  that  his 
measures  were  only  of  a  temporary  kind,  replied,  "  they  wilt 
last  my  timey  Should  a  thought  so  fatal  and  unmanly 
possess  the  Colonies  in  the  present  contest,  the  name  of  an- 
cestors will  be  remembered  by  future  generations  with 
detestation. 

The  Sun  never  shined  on  a  cause  of  greater  worth.  'Tis 
not  the  affair  of  a  City,  a  County,  a  Province,  or  a  Kingdom  ; 
but  of  a  Continent — of  at  least  one  eighth  part  of  the  habi- 
table Globe.  'Tis  not  the  concern  of  a  day,  a  year,  or  an 
age  ;  posterity  are  virtually  involved  in  the  contest,  and  wilt 


1776] 


COMMON  SENSE. 


85 


be  more  or  less  affected  even  to  the  end  of  time,  by  the  pro- 
ceedings now.  Now  is  the  seed-time  of  Continental  union, 
faith  and  honour.  The  least  fracture  now  will  be  like  a  name 
engraved  with  the  point  of  a  pin  on  the  tender  rind  of  a 
young  oak ;  the  wound  would  enlarge  with  the  tree,  and 
posterity  read  it  in  full  grown  characters. 

By  referring  the  matter  from  argument  to  arms,  a  new 
aera  for  politics  is  struck — a  new  method  of  thinking  hath 
arisen.  All  plans,  proposals,  &c.  prior  to  the  nineteenth  of 
April,  i.  e.  to  the  commencement  of  hostilities,'  are  like  the 
almanacks  of  the  last  year ;  which  tho'  proper  then,  are 
superceded  and  useless  now.  Whatever  was  advanced  by 
the  advocates  on  either  side  of  the  question  then,  terminated 
in  one  and  the  same  point,  viz.  a  union  with  Great  Britain  ; 
the  only  difference  between  the  parties  was  the  method  of 
effecting  it ;  the  one  proposing  force,  the  other  friendship  ; 
but  it  hath  so  far  happened  that  the  first  hath  failed,  and  the 
second  hath  withdrawn  her  influence. 

As  much  hath  been  said  of  the  advantages  of  reconcilia- 
tion, which,  like  an  agreeable  dream,  hath  passed  away  and 
left  us  as  we  were,  it  is  but  right  that  we  should  examine 
the  contrary  side  of  the  argument,  and  enquire  into  some 
of  the  many  material  injuries  which  these  Colonies  sustain, 
and  always  will  sustain,  by  being  connected  with  and  de- 
pendant on  Great-Britain.  To  examine  that  connection  and 
dependance,  on  the  principles  of  nature  and  common  sense, 
to  see  what  we  have  to  trust  to,  if  separated,  and  what  we 
are  to  expect,  if  dependant. 

I  have  heard  it  asserted  by  some,  that  as  America  has 
flourished  under  her  former  connection  with  Great-Britain, 
the  same  connection  is  necessary  towards  her  future  happi- 
ness, and  will  always  have  the  same  effect.  Nothing  can  be 
more  fallacious  than  this  kind  of  argument.  We  may  as 
well  assert  that  because  a  child  has  thrived  upon  milk,  that 
it  is  never  to  have  meat,  or  that  the  first  twenty  years  of 
our  lives  is  to  become  a  precedent  for  the  next  twenty.  But 
even   this   is  admitting  more  than  is  true ;   for  I  answer 

'  At  Lexington,  Massachusetts,  1775. — Editor. 


86 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


roundly,  that  America  would  have  flourished  as  much,  and 
probably  much  more,  had  no  European  power  taken  any 
notice  of  her.  The  commerce  by  which  she  hath  enriched 
herself  are  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  will  always  have  a 
market  while  eating  is  the  custom  of  Europe. 

But  she  has  protected  us,  say  some.  That  she  hath  en- 
grossed us  is  true,  and  defended  the  Continent  at  our  ex- 
pense as  well  as  her  own,  is  admitted  ;  and  she  would  have 
defended  Turkey  from  the  same  motive,  viz.  for  the  sake  of 
trade  and  dominion. 

Alas  !  we  have  been  long  led  away  by  ancient  prejudices 
and  made  large  sacrifices  to  superstition.  We  have  boasted 
the  protection  of  Great  Britain,  without  considering,  that 
her  motive  was  interest  not  attachment  ;  and  that  she  did  not 
protect  us  from  our  enemies  on  our  account ;  but  from  her 
enemies  on  her  own  account,  from  those  who  had  no  quarrel 
with  us  on  any  other  account,  and  who  will  always  be  our 
enemies  on  the  same  account.  Let  Britain  waive  her  preten- 
sions to  the  Continent,  or  the  Continent  throw  off  the  de- 
pendance,  and  we  should  be  at  peace  with  France  and  Spain, 
were  they  at  war  with  Britain.  The  miseries  of  Hanover 
last  war  ought  to  warn  us  against  connections. 

It  hath  lately  been  asserted  in  parliament,  that  the  Colo- 
nies have  no  relation  to  each  other  but  through  the  Parent 
Country,  i.  e.  that  Pennsylvania  and  the  Jerseys,  and  so  on 
for  the  rest,  are  sister  Colonies  by  the  way  of  England ;  this 
is  certainly  a  very  roundabout  way  of  proving  relationship, 
but  it  is  the  nearest  and  only  true  way  of  proving  enmity 
(or  enemyship,  if  I  may  so  call  it.)  France  and  Spain  never 
were,  nor  perhaps  ever  will  be,  our  enemies  as  Americans, 
but  as  our  being  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain. 

But  Britain  is  the  parent  country,  say  some.  Then  the 
more  shame  upon  her  conduct.  Even  brutes  do  not  devour 
their  young,  nor  savages  make  war  upon  their  families ; 
Wherefore,  the  assertion,  if  true,  turns  to  her  reproach  ;  but 
it  happens  not  to  be  true,  or  only  partly  so,  and  the  phrase 
parent  or  mother  country  hath  been  jesuitically  adopted  by 
the  King  and  his  parasites,  with  a  low  papistical  design  of 


COMMON  SENSE. 


87 


gaining  an  unfair  bias  on  the  credulous  weakness  of  our 
minds.  Europe,  and  not  England,  is  the  parent  country  of 
America.  This  new  World  hath  been  the  asylum  for  the 
persecuted  lovers  of  civil  and  religious  liberty  from  every 
part  of  Europe.  Hither  have  they  fled,  not  from  the  tender 
embraces  of  the  mother,  but  from  the  cruelty  of  the  mon- 
ster ;  and  it  is  so  far  true  of  England,  that  the  same  tyranny 
which  drove  the  first  emigrants  from  home,  pursues  their 
descendants  still. 

In  this  extensive  quarter  of  the  globe,  we  forget  the  nar- 
row limits  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  miles  (the  extent  of 
England)  and  carry  our  friendship  on  a  larger  scale  ;  we  claim 
brotherhood  with  every  European  Christian,  and  triumph  in 
the  generosity  of  the  sentiment. 

It  is  pleasant  to  observe  by  what  regular  gradations  we 
surmount  the  force  of  local  prejudices,  as  we  enlarge  our  ac- 
quaintance with  the  World.  A  man  born  in  any  town  in 
England  divided  into  parishes,  will  naturally  associate  most 
with  his  fellow  parishioners  (because  their  interests  in  many 
cases  will  be  common)  and  distinguish  him  by  the  name  of 
neighbour  ;  if  he  meet  him  but  a  few  miles  from  home,  he 
drops  the  narrow  idea  of  a  street,  and  salutes  him  by  the 
name  of  townsman  ;  if  he  travel  out  of  the  county  and  meet 
him  in  any  other,  he  forgets  the  minor  divisions  of  street 
and  town,  and  calls  him  countryman,  i.  e.  countyman :  but 
if  in  their  foreign  excursions  they  should  associate  in  France, 
or  any  other  part  of  Europe,  their  local  remembrance  would 
be  enlarged  into  that  of  Englishmen.  And  by  a  just  parity 
of  reasoning,  all  Europeans  meeting  in  America,  or  any  other 
quarter  of  the  globe,  are  countrymen  ;  for  England,  Holland, 
Germany,  or  Sweden,  when  compared  with  the  whole,  stand 
in  the  same  places  on  the  larger  scale,  which  the  divisions  of 
street,  town,  and  county  do  on  the  smaller  ones  ;  Distinctions 
too  limited  for  Continental  minds.  Not  one  third  of  the  in- 
habitants, even  of  this  province,  [Pennsylvania],  are  of  Eng- 
lish descent.  Wherefore,  I  reprobate  the  phrase  of  Parent 
or  Mother  Country  applied  to  England  only,  as  being  false, 
selfish,  narrow  and  ungenerous. 


88 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


But,  admitting  that  we  were  all  of  English  descent,  what 
does  it  amount  to  ?  Nothing.  Britain,  being  now  an  open 
enemy,  extinguishes  every  other  name  and  title  :  and  to  say 
that  reconciliation  is  our  duty,  is  truly  farcical.  The  first 
king  of  England,  of  the  present  line  (William  the  Conqueror) 
was  a  Frenchman,  and  half  the  peers  of  England  are  des- 
cendants from  the  same  country ;  wherefore,  by  the  same 
method  of  reasoning,  England  ought  to  be  governed  by 
France. 

Much  hath  been  said  of  the  united  strength  of  Britain  and 
the  Colonies,  that  in  conjunction  they  might  bid  defiance  to 
the  world  :  But  this  is  mere  presumption  ;  the  fate  of  war 
is  uncertain,  neither  do  the  expressions  mean  any  thing;  for 
this  continent  would  never  suffer  itself  to  be  drained  of  in- 
habitants, to  support  the  British  arms  in  either  Asia,  Africa, 
or  Europe. 

Besides,  what  have  we  to  do  with  setting  the  world  at  de- 
fiance ?  Our  plan  is  commerce,  and  that,  well  attended  to, 
will  secure  us  the  peace  and  friendship  of  all  Europe  ;  be- 
cause it  is  the  interest  of  all  Europe  to  have  America  a  free 
port.  Her  trade  will  always  be  a  protection,  and  her  bar- 
renness of  gold  and  silver  secure  her  from  invaders. 

I  challenge  the  warmest  advocate  for  reconciliation  to  show 
a  single  advantage  that  this  continent  can  reap  by  being 
connected  with  Great  Britain.  I  repeat  the  challenge  ;  not 
a  single  advantage  is  derived.  Our  corn  will  fetch  its  price 
in  any  market  in  Europe,  and  our  imported  goods  must  be 
paid  for  buy  them  where  we  will. 

But  the  injuries  and  disadvantages  which  we  sustain  by 
that  connection,  are  without  number;  and  our  duty  to  man- 
kind at  large,  as  well  as  to  ourselves,  instruct  us  to  renounce 
the  alliance  :  because,  any  submission  to,  or  dependance  on. 
Great  Britain,  tends  directly  to  involve  this  Continent  in 
European  wars  and  quarrels,  and  set  us  at  variance  with  na- 
tions who  would  otherwise  seek  our  friendship,  and  against 
whom  we  have  neither  anger  nor  complaint.  As  Europe  is 
our  market  for  trade,  we  ought  to  form  no  partial  connection 
with  any  part  of  it.    It  is  the  true  interest  of  America  to 


1776] 


COMMON  SENSE. 


89 


steer  clear  of  European  contentions,  which  she  never  can  do, 
while,  by  her  depcndance  on  Britain,  she  is  made  the  make- 
weight in  the  scale  of  British  politics. 

Europe  is  too  thickly  planted  with  Kingdoms  to  be  long 
at  peace,  and  whenever  a  war  breaks  out  between  England 
and  any  foreign  power,  the  trade  of  America  goes  to  ruin, 
because  of  her  connection  with  Britain.  The  next  war  may 
not  turn  out  like  the  last,  and  should  it  not,  the  advocates 
for  reconciliation  now  will  be  wishing  for  separation  then, 
because  neutrality  in  that  case  would  be  a  safer  convoy  than 
a  man  of  war.  Every  thing  that  is  right  or  reasonable  pleads 
for  separation.  The  blood  of  the  slain,  the  weeping  voice 
of  nature  cries,  'TiS  TIME  TO  PART.  Even  the  distance  at 
which  the  Almighty  hath  placed  England  and  America  is  a 
strong  and  natural  proof  that  the  authority  of  the  one  over 
the  other,  was  never  the  design  of  Heaven.  The  time  like- 
wise at  which  the  Continent  was  discovered,  adds  weight  to 
the  argument,  and  the  manner  in  which  it  was  peopled,  en- 
creases  the  force  of  it.  The  Reformation  was  preceded  by 
the  discovery  of  America  :  As  if  the  Almighty  graciously 
meant  to  open  a  sanctuary  to  the  persecuted  in  future  years, 
when  home  should  afford  neither  friendship  nor  safety. 

The  authority  of  Great  Britain  over  this  continent,  is  a 
form  of  government,  which  sooner  or  later  must  have  an  end  : 
And  a  serious  mind  can  draw  no  true  pleasure  by  looking 
forward,  under  the  painful  and  positive  conviction  that  what 
he  calls  "  the  present  constitution"  is  merely  temporary.  As 
parents,  we  can  have  no  joy,  knowing  that  this  government 
is  not  sufficiently  lasting  to  ensure  any  thing  which  we  may 
bequeath  to  posterity:  And  by  a  plain  method  of  argument, 
as  we  are  running  the  next  generation  into  debt,  we  ought 
to  do  the  work  of  it,  otherwise  we  use  them  meanly  and  piti- 
fully. In  order  to  discover  the  line  of  our  duty  rightly,  we 
should  take  our  children  in  our  hand,  and  fix  our  station  a 
few  years  farther  into  life  ;  that  eminence  will  present  a 
prospect  which  a  few  present  fears  and  prejudices  conceal 
from  our  sight. 

Though  I  would  carefully  avoid  giving  unnecessary  of- 


90 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


fence,  yet  I  am  inclined  to  believe,  that  all  those  who  es- 
pouse the  doctrine  of  reconciliation,  maj'  be  included  within 
the  following  descriptions. 

Interested  men,  who  are  not  to  be  trusted,  weak  men  who 
cannot  see,  prejudiced  men  who  will  not  see,  and  a  certain 
set  of  moderate  men  who  think  better  of  the  European  world 
than  it  deserves;  and  this  last  class,  by  an  ill-judged  delib- 
eration, will  be  the  cause  of  more  calamities  to  this  Continent 
than  all  the  other  three. 

It  is  the  good  fortune  of  many  to  live  distant  from  the 
scene  of  present  sorrow  ;  the  evil  is  not  sufficiently  brought 
to  their  doors  to  make  them  feel  the  precariousness  with 
which  all  American  property  is  possessed.  But  let  our  im- 
aginations transport  us  a  few  moments  to  Boston  ;  that  seat 
of  wretchedness  will  teach  us  wisdom,  and  instruct  us  for 
ever  to  renounce  a  power  in  whom  we  can  have  no  trust. 
The  inhabitants  of  that  unfortunate  city  who  but  a  few 
months  ago  were  in  ease  and  afifluence,  have  now  no  other 
alternative  than  to  stay  and  starve,  or  turn  out  to  beg.  En- 
dangered by  the  fire  of  their  friends  if  they  continue  within 
the  city,  and  plundered  by  the  soldiery  if  they  leave  it,  in 
their  present  situation  they  are  prisoners  without  the  hope 
of  redemption,  and  in  a  general  attack  for  their  relief  they 
would  be  exposed  to  the  fury  of  both  armies. 

Men  of  passive  tempers  look  somewhat  lightly  over  the 
ofYences  of  Great  Britain,  and,  still  hoping  for  the  best,  are 
apt  to  call  out,  Cotne,  come,  we  shall  be  friends  again  for  all 
this.  But  examine  the  passions  and  feelings  of  mankind : 
bring  the  doctrine  of  reconciliation  to  the  touchstone  of  na- 
ture, and  then  tell  me  whether  you  can  hereafter  love,  hon- 
our, and  faithfully  serve  the  power  that  hath  carried  fire  and 
sword  into  your  land  ?  If  you  cannot  do  all  these,  then  are 
you  only  deceiving  yourselves,  and  by  your  delay  bringing 
ruin  upon  posterity.  Your  future  connection  with  Britain, 
whom  you  can  neither  love  nor  honour,  will  be  forced  and 
unnatural,  and  being  formed  only  on  the  plan  of  present 
convenience,  will  in  a  little  time  fall  into  a  relapse  more 
wretched  than  the  first.    But  if  you  say,  you  can  still  pass 


1776]  COMMON  SENSE.  9 1 


the  violations  over,  then  I  ask,  hath  your  house  been  burnt  ? 
Hath  your  property  been  destroyed  before  your  face  ?  Arc 
your  wife  and  children  destitute  of  a  bed  to  lie  on,  or  bread 
to  live  on  ?  Have  you  lost  a  parent  or  a  child  by  their 
hands,  and  yourself  the  ruined  and  wretched  survivor?  If 
you  have  not,  then  are  you  not  a  judge  of  those  who  have. 
But  if  you  have,  and  can  still  shake  hands  with  the  murder- 
ers, then  are  you  unworthy  the  name  of  husband,  father, 
friend,  or  lover,  and  whatever  may  be  your  rank  or  title  in 
life,  you  have  the  heart  of  a  coward,  and  the  spirit  of  a 
sycophant. 

This  is  not  inflaming  or  exaggerating  matters,  but  trying 
them  by  those  feelings  and  afTections  which  nature  justifies, 
and  without  which  we  should  be  incapable  of  discharging  the 
social  duties  of  life,  or  enjoying  the  felicities  of  it.  I  mean 
not  to  exhibit  horror  for  the  purpose  of  provoking  revenge, 
but  to  awaken  us  from  fatal  and  unmanly  slumbers,  that  we 
may  pursue  determinately  some  fixed  object.  'Tis  not  in  the 
power  of  Britain  or  of  Europe  to  conquer  America,  if  she 
doth  not  conquer  herself  by  delay  and  timidity.  The  pres- 
ent winter  is  worth  an  age  if  rightly  employed,  but  if  lost  or 
neglected  the  whole  Continent  will  partake  of  the  misfor- 
tune ;  and  there  is  no  punishment  which  that  man  doth  not 
deserve,  be  he  who,  or  what,  or  where  he  will,  that  may  be 
the  means  of  sacrificing  a  season  so  precious  and  useful. 

'Tis  repugnant  to  reason,  to  the  universal  order  of  things, 
to  all  examples  from  former  ages,  to  suppose  that  this  Con- 
tinent can  long  remain  subject  to  any  external  power.  The 
most  sanguine  in  Britain  doth  not  think  so.  The  utmost 
stretch  of  human  wisdom  cannot,  at  this  time,  compass  a 
plan,  short  of  separation,  which  can  promise  the  continent 
even  a  year's  security.  Reconciliation  is  now  a  fallacious 
dream.  Nature  hath  deserted  the  connection,  and  art 
cannot  supply  her  place.  For,  as  Milton  wisely  expresses, 
"  never  can  true  reconcilement  grow  where  wounds  of  deadly 
hate  have  pierced  so  deep." 

Every  quiet  method  for  peace  hath  been  ineffectual.  Our 
prayers  have  been  rejected  with  disdain  ;  and  hath  tended  to 


92 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


convince  us  that  nothing  flatters  vanity  or  confirms  obstinacy 
in  Kings  more  than  repeated  petitioning — and  nothing  hath 
contributed  more  than  that  very  measure  to  make  the 
Kings  of  Europe  absolute.  Witness  Denmark  and  Sweden. 
Wherefore,  since  nothing  but  blows  will  do,  for  God's  sake 
let  us  come  to  a  final  separation,  and  not  leave  the  next  gen- 
eration to  be  cutting  throats  under  the  violated  unmeaning 
names  of  parent  and  child. 

To  say  they  will  never  attempt  it  again  is  idle  and  vision- 
ary ;  we  thought  so  at  the  repeal  of  the  stamp  act,  yet  a 
year  or  two  undeceived  us  ;  as  well  may  we  suppose  that 
nations  which  have  been  once  defeated  will  never  renew  the 
quarrel. 

As  to  government  matters,  'tis  not  in  the  power  of 
Britain  to  do  this  continent  justice :  the  business  of  it  will 
soon  be  too  weighty  and  intricate  to  be  managed  with  any 
tolerable  degree  of  convenience,  by  a  power  so  distant  from 
us,  and  so  very  ignorant  of  us  ;  for  if  they  cannot  conquer 
us,  they  cannot  govern  us.  To  be  always  running  three  or 
four  thousand  miles  with  a  tale  or  a  petition,  waiting  four  or 
five  months  for  an  answer,  which,  when  obtained,  requires 
five  or  six  more  to  explain  it  in,  will  in  a  few  years  be  looked 
upon  as  folly  and  childishness.  There  was  a  time  when  it 
was  proper,  and  there  is  a  proper  time  for  it  to  cease. 

Small  islands  not  capable  of  protecting  themselves  are 
the  proper  objects  for  government '  to  take  under  their  care  ; 
but  there  is  something  absurd,  in  supposing  a  Continent  to 
be  perpetually  governed  by  an  island.  In  no  instance  hath 
nature  made  the  satellite  larger  than  its  primary  planet ; 
and  as  England  and  America,  with  respect  to  each  other, 
reverse  the  common  order  of  nature,  it  is  evident  that  they 
belong  to  different  systems.  England  to  Europe  :  America 
to  itself. 

I  am  not  induced  by  motives  of  pride,  party,  or  resent- 
ment to  espouse  the  doctrine  of  separation  and  independ- 
ence;  I  am  clearly,  positively,  and  conscientiously  persuaded 
that  it  is  the  true  interest  of  this  Continent  to  be  so  ;  that 

'  In  some  later  editions  "  kingdoms." — Editor. 


1776] 


COMMON  SENSE. 


93 


every  thing  short  of  tJiat  is  mere  patchwork,  that  it  can  afford 
no  lasting  felicity, — that  it  is  leaving  the  sword  to  our  children, 
and  shrinking  back  at  a  time  when  a  little  more,  a  little 
further,  would  have  rendered  this  Continent  the  glory  of 
the  earth. 

As  Britain  hath  not  manifested  the  least  inclination 
towards  a  compromise,  we  may  be  assured  that  no  terms  can 
be  obtained  worthy  the  acceptance  of  the  Continent,  or  any 
ways  equal  to  the  expence  of  blood  and  treasure  we  have 
been  already  put  to. 

The  object  contended  for,  ought  always  to  bear  some  just 
proportion  to  the  expense.  The  removal  of  North,  or  the 
whole  detestable  junto,  is  a  matter  unworthy  the  millions 
we  have  expended.  A  temporary  stoppage  of  trade  was  an 
inconvenience,  which  would  have  sufficiently  ballanced  the 
repeal  of  all  the  acts  complained  of,  had  such  repeals  been 
obtained  ;  but  if  the  whole  Continent  must  take  up  arms,  if 
every  man  must  be  a  soldier,  'tis  scarcely  worth  our  while  to 
fight  against  a  contemptible  ministry  only.  Dearly,  dearly 
do  we  pay  for  the  repeal  of  the  acts,  if  that  is  all  we  fight 
for;  for,  in  a  just  estimation  'tis  as  great  a  folly  to  pay  a 
Bunker-hill  price  for  law  as  for  land.  As  I  have  always  con- 
sidered the  independancy  of  this  continent,  as  an  event 
which  sooner  or  later  must  arrive,  so  from  the  late  rapid 
progress  of  the  Continent  to  maturity,  the  event  cannot  be 
far  off.  Wherefore,  on  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities,  it  was 
not  worth  the  while  to  have  disputed  a  matter  which  time 
would  have  finally  redressed,  unless  we  meant  to  be  in 
earnest :  otherwise  it  is  like  wasting  an  estate  on  a  suit  at 
law,  to  regulate  the  trespasses  of  a  tenant  whose  lease  is  just 
expiring.  No  man  was  a  warmer  wisher  for  a  reconciliation 
than  myself,  before  the  fatal  nineteenth  of  April,  1775,  but 
the  moment  the  event  of  that  day  was  made  known,  I  re- 
jected the  hardened,  sullen-tempered  Pharaoh  of  England 
for  ever ;  and  disdain  the  wretch,  that  with  the  pretended 
title  of  Father  of  his  people  can  unfeelingly  hear  of 
their  slaughter,  and  composedly  sleep  with  their  blood  upon 
his  soul. 


94 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


But  admitting  that  matters  were  now  made  up,  what  would 
be  the  event?  I  answer,  the  ruin  of  the  Continent.  And 
that  for  several  reasons. 

First.  The  powers  of  governing  still  remaining  in  the 
hands  of  the  King,  he  will  have  a  negative  over  the  whole 
legislation  of  this  Continent.  And  as  he  hath  shown  him- 
self such  an  inveterate  enemy  to  liberty,  and  discovered  such 
a  thirst  for  arbitrary  power,  is  he,  or  is  he  not,  a  proper  person 
to  say  to  these  colonies,  Yoii  shall  make  no  laws  but  what  I 
please  !  ?  And  is  there  any  inhabitant  of  America  so  igno- 
rant as  not  to  know,  that  according  to  what  is  called  the 
present  constitution,  this  Continent  can  make  no  laws  but 
what  the  king  gives  leave  to  ;  and  is  there  any  man  so  un- 
wise as  not  to  see,  that  (considering  what  has  happened) 
he  will  suffer  no  law  to  be  made  here  but  such  as  suits  his 
purpose?  We  may  be  as  effectually  enslaved  by  the  want 
of  laws  in  America,  as  by  submitting  to  laws  made  for 
us  in  England.  After  matters  are  made  up  (as  it  is  called) 
can  there  be  any  doubt,  but  the  whole  power  of  the 
crown  will  be  exerted  to  keep  this  continent  as  low  and 
humble  as  possible?  Instead  of  going  forward  we  shall 
go  backward,  or  be  perpetually  quarrelling,  or  ridiculously 
petitioning.  We  are  already  greater  than  the  King  wishes 
us  to  be,  and  will  he  not  hereafter  endeavor  to  make  us 
less?  To  bring  the  matter  to  one  point,  Is  the  power  who 
is  jealous  of  our  prosperity,  a  proper  power  to  govern  us? 
Whoever  says  No,  to  this  question,  is  an  Independant  for 
independency  means  no  more  than  this,  whether  we  shall 
make  our  own  laws,  or,  whether  the  King,  the  greatest 
enemy  this  continent  hath,  or  can  have,  shall  tell  us  there 
shall  be  no  laws  but  such  as  I  like. 

But  the  King,  you  will  say,  has  a  negative  in  England  ; 
the  people  there  can  make  no  laws  without  his  consent. 
In  point  of  right  and  good  order,  it  is  something  very 
ridiculous  that  a  youth  of  twenty-one  (which  hath  often 
happened)  shall  say  to  several  millions  of  people  older  and 
wiser  than  himself,  "  I  forbid  this  or  that  act  of  yours  to 
be  law."      But  in  this  place   I  decline  this  sort  of  reply. 


1776] 


COMMON  SENSE. 


95 


though  I  will  never  cease  to  expose  the  absurdity  of  it, 
and  only  answer  that  England  being  the  King's  residence, 
and  America  not  so,  makes  quite  another  case.  The 
King's  negative  here  is  ten  times  more  dangerous  and 
fatal  than  it  can  be  in  England  ;  for  there  he  will  scarcely 
refuse  his  consent  to  a  bill  for  putting  England  into  as 
strong  a  state  of  defense  as  possible,  and  in  America  he 
would  never  suffer  such  a  bill  to  be  passed. 

America  is  only  a  secondary  object  in  the  system  of 
British  politics.  England  consults  the  good  of  this  country 
no  further  than  it  answers  her  own  purpose.  Wherefore, 
her  own  interest  leads  her  to  suppress  the  growth  of  ours 
in  every  case  which  doth  not  promote  her  advantage,  or  in 
the  least  interferes  with  it.  A  pretty  state  we  should  soon 
be  in  under  such  a  second  hand  government,  considering 
what  has  happened !  Men  do  not  change  from  enemies 
to  friends  by  the  alteration  of  a  name :  And  in  order  to 
show  that  reconciliation  now  is  a  dangerous  doctrine,  I 
affirm,  that  it  would  be  policy  in  the  King  at  this  time  to 
repeal  the  acts,  for  the  sake  of  reinstating  himself  in  the 
government  of  the  provinces  ;  In  order  that  HE  MAY  ACCOM- 
PLISH BY  CRAFT  AND  SUBTLETY,  IN  THE  LONG  RUN, 
WHAT  HE  CANNOT  DO  BY  FORCE  AND  VIOLENCE  IN  THE 
SHORT  ONE.    Reconciliation  and  ruin  are  nearly  related. 

Secondly.  That  as  even  the  best  terms  which  we  can 
expect  to  obtain  can  amount  to  no  more  than  a  tempo- 
rary expedient,  or  a  kind  of  government  by  guardianship, 
which  can  last  no  longer  than  till  the  Colonies  come  of  age, 
so  the  general  face  and  state  of  things  in  the  interim  will  be 
unsettled  and  unpromising.  Emigrants  of  property  will  not 
choose  to  come  to  a  country  whose  form  of  government 
hangs  but  by  a  thread,  and  who  is  every  day  tottering  on  the 
brink  of  commotion  and  disturbance  ;  and  numbers  of  the 
present  inhabitants  would  lay  hold  of  the  interval  to  dispose 
of  their  effects,  and  quit  the  Continent. 

But  the  most  powerful  of  all  arguments  is,  that  nothing 
but  independance,  i.  e.  a  Continental  form  of  government, 
can  keep  the  peace  of  the  Continent  and  preserve  it  inviolate 


96 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


from  civil  wars.  I  dread  the  event  of  a  reconciliation  with 
Britain  now,  as  it  is  more  than  probable  that  it  will  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  revolt  some  where  or  other,  the  consequences  of 
which  may  be  far  more  fatal  than  all  the  malice  of  Britain. 

Thousands  are  already  ruined  by  British  barbarity  ;  (thou- 
sands more  will  probably  suf¥er  the  same  fate.)  Those  men 
have  other  feelings  than  us  who  have  nothing  suffered.  All 
they  now  possess  is  liberty  ;  what  they  before  enjoyed  is  sacri- 
ficed to  its  service,  and  having  nothing  more  to  lose  they  dis- 
dain submission.  Besides,  the  general  temper  of  the  Colonies, 
towards  a  British  government  will  be  like  that  of  a  youth  who 
is  nearly  out  of  his  time  ;  they  will  care  very  little  about  her: 
And  a  government  which  cannot  preserve  the  peace  is  no  gov- 
ernment at  all,  and  in  that  case  we  pay  our  money  for  nothing ; 
and  pray  what  is  it  that  Britain  can  do,  whose  power  will  be 
wholly  on  paper,  should  a  civil  tumult  break  out  the  very  day 
after  reconciliation  ?  I  have  heard  some  men  say,  many  of 
whom  I  believe  spoke  without  thinking,  that  they  dreaded  an 
independance,  fearing  that  it  would  produce  civil  wars  :  It  is 
but  seldom  that  our  first  thoughts  are  truly  correct,  and  that  is 
the  case  here ;  for  there  is  ten  times  more  to  dread  from  a 
patched  up  connection  than  from  independance.  I  make  the 
sufferer's  case  my  own,  and  I  protest,  that  were  I  driven  from 
house  and  home,  my  property  destroyed,  and  my  circum- 
stances ruined,  that  as  a  man,  sensible  of  injuries,  I  could 
never  relish  the  doctrine  of  reconciliation,  or  consider  myself 
bound  thereby. 

The  Colonies  have  manifested  such  a  spirit  of  good  order 
and  obedience  to  Continental  government,  as  is  sufficient  to 
make  every  reasonable  person  easy  and  happy  on  that  head. 
No  man  can  assign  the  least  pretence  for  his  fears,  on  any 
other  grounds,  than  such  as  are  truly  childish  and  ridiculous, 
viz.,  that  one  colony  will  be  striving  for  superiority  over 
another. 

Where  there  are  no  distinctions  there  can  be  no  superiority  ; 
perfect  equality  affords  no  temptation.  The  Republics  of 
Europe  are  all  (and  we  may  say  always)  in  peace.  Holland 
and  Switzerland  are  without  wars,  foreign  or  domestic: 


1776] 


COMMON  SENSE. 


97 


Monarchical  governments,  it  is  true,  are  never  long  at  rest : 
the  crown  itself  is  a  temptation  to  enterprising  ruffians  at 
home  ;  and  that  degree  of  pride  and  insolence  ever  attendant 
on  regal  authority,  swells  into  a  rupture  with  foreign  powers 
in  instances  where  a  republican  government,  by  being  formed 
on  more  natural  principles,  would  negociate  the  mistake. 

If  there  is  any  true  cause  of  fear  respecting  independance, 
it  is  because  no  plan  is  yet  laid  down.  Men  do  not  see  their 
way  out.  Wherefore,  as  an  opening  into  that  business  I  offer 
the  following  hints  ;  at  the  same  time  modestly  affirming,  that 
I  have  no  other  opinion  of  them  myself,  than  that  they  may 
be  the  means  of  giving  rise  to  something  better.  Could  the 
straggling  thoughts  of  individuals  be  collected,  they  would 
frequently  form  materials  for  wise  and  able  men  to  improve 
into  useful  matter. 

Let  the  assemblies  be  annual,  with  a  president  only.  The 
representation  more  equal,  their  business  wholly  domestic, 
and  subject  to  the  authority  of  a  Continental  Congress. 

Let  each  Colony  be  divided  into  six,  eight,  or  ten,  con- 
venient districts,  each  district  to  send  a  proper  number  of 
Delegates  to  Congress,  so  that  each  Colony  send  at  least 
thirty.  The  whole  number  in  Congress  will  be  at  least  390. 
Each  congress  to  sit  and  to  choose  a  President  by  the 

following  method.  When  the  Delegates  are  met,  let  a  Colony 
be  taken  from  the  whole  thirteen  Colonies  by  lot,  after  which 
let  the  Congress  choose  (by  ballot)  a  president  from  out  of  the 
Delegates  of  that  Province.  In  the  next  Congress,  let  a 
Colony  be  taken  by  lot  from  twelve  only,  omitting  that 
Colony  from  which  the  president  was  taken  in  the  former 
Congress,  and  so  proceeding  on  till  the  whole  thirteen  shall 
have  had  their  proper  rotation.  And  in  order  that  nothing  may 
pass  into  a  law  but  what  is  satisfactorily  just,  not  less  than 
three  fifths  of  the  Congress  to  be  called  a  majority.  He  that 
will  promote  discord,  under  a  government  so  equally  formed 
as  this,  would  have  joined  Lucifer  in  his  revolt. 

But  as  there  is  a  peculiar  delicacy  from  whom,  or  in  what 
manner,  this  business  must  first  arise,  and  as  it  seems  most 
agreeable  and  consistent  that  it  should  come  from  some  inter- 


98 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


mediate  body  between  the  governed  and  the  governors,  that 
is,  between  the  Congress  and  the  People,  let  a  Continental 
Conference  be  held  in  the  following  manner,  and  for  the 
following  purpose, 

A  Committee  of  twenty  six  members  of  congress,  viz. 
Two  for  each  Colony.  Two  Members  from  each  House  of 
Assembly,  or  Provincial  Convention  ;  and  five  Representa- 
tives of  the  people  at  large,  to  be  chosen  in  the  capital  city 
or  town  of  each  Province,  for,  and  in  behalf  of  the  whole 
Province,  by  as  many  qualified  voters  as  shall  think  proper  to 
attend  from  all  parts  of  the  Province  for  that  purpose ;  or,  if 
more  convenient,  the  Representatives  may  be  chosen  in  two 
or  three  of  the  most  populous  parts  thereof.  In  this  con- 
ference, thus  assembled,  will  be  united  the  two  grand  prin- 
ciples of  business,  knowledge  and  power.  The  Members  of 
Congress,  Assemblies,  or  Conventions,  by  having  had  ex- 
perience in  national  concerns,  will  be  able  and  useful  coun- 
sellors, and  the  whole,  being  impowered  by  the  people,  will 
have  a  truly  legal  authority. 

The  conferring  members  being  met,  let  their  business  be 
to  frame  a  Continental  Charter,  or  Charter  of  the  United 
Colonies ;  (answering  to  what  is  called  the  Magna  Charta  of 
England)  fixing  the  number  and  manner  of  choosing  Members 
of  Congress,  Members  of  Assembly,  with  their  date  of  sitting  ; 
and  drawing  the  line  of  business  and  jurisdiction  between 
them :  Always  remembering,  that  our  strength  is  Conti- 
nental, not  Provincial.  Securing  freedom  and  property  to 
all  men,  and  above  all  things,  the  free  exercise  of  religion, 
according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience  ;  with  such  other  mat- 
ter as  it  is  necessary  for  a  charter  to  contain.  Immediately 
after  which,  the  said  conference  to  dissolve,  and  the  bodies 
which  shall  be  chosen  conformable  to  the  said  charter,  to  be 
the  Legislators  and  Governors  of  this  Continent  for  the  time 
being:  Whose  peace  and  happiness,  may  GOD  preserve. 
Amen. 

Should  any  body  of  men  be  hereafter  delegated  for  this 
or  some  similar  purpose,  I  offer  them  the  following  extracts 
from  that  wise  observer  on  Governments,  Dragonetti.  "The 


1776] 


COMMON  SENSE. 


99 


science,"  says  he,  "  of  the  Politician  consists  in  fixing  the 
true  point  of  happiness  and  freedom.  Those  men  would 
deserve  the  gratitude  of  ages,  who  should  discover  a  mode 
of  government  that  contained  the  greatest  sum  of  individual 
happiness,  with  the  least  national  expense."  (Dragonetti 
on  "  Virtues  and  Reward.") 

But  where,  say  some,  is  the  King  of  America?  I'll  tell 
you,  friend,  he  reigns  above,  and  doth  not  make  havoc  of 
mankind  like  the  Royal  Brute  of  Great  Britain.  Yet  that 
we  may  not  appear  to  be  defective  even  in  earthly  honours, 
let  a  day  be  solemnly  set  apart  for  proclaiming  the  Charter ; 
let  it  be  brought  forth  placed  on  the  Divine  Law,  the  Word 
of  God ;  let  a  crown  be  placed  thereon,  by  which  the  world 
may  know,  that  so  far  as  we  approve  of  monarchy,  that  in 
America  the  law  is  king.  For  as  in  absolute  governments 
the  King  is  law,  so  in  free  countries  the  law  ought  to  be 
king;  and  there  ought  to  be  no  other.  But  lest  any  ill  use 
should  afterwards  arise,  let  the  Crown  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  ceremony  be  demolished,  and  scattered  among  the 
people  whose  right  it  is. 

A  government  of  our  own  is  our  natural  right :  and  when 
a  man  seriously  reflects  on  the  precariousness  of  human 
affairs,  he  will  become  convinced,  that  it  is  infinitely  wiser 
and  safer,  to  form  a  constitution  of  our  own  in  a  cool  delib- 
erate manner,  while  we  have  it  in  our  power,  than  to  trust 
such  an  interesting  event  to  time  and  chance.  If  we  omit 
it  now,  some  Massanello'*  may  hereafter  arise,  who,  laying 
hold  of  popular  disquietudes,  may  collect  together  the 
desperate  and  the  discontented,  and  by  assuming  to  them- 
selves the  powers  of  government,  finally  sweep  away  the 
liberties  of  the  Continent  like  a  deluge.  Should  the  govern- 
ment of  America  return  again  into  the  hands  of  Britain,  the 
tottering  situation  of  things  will  be  a  temptation  for  some 
desperate  adventurer  to  try  his  fortune  ;  and  in  such  a  case, 

*  Thomas  Anello,  otherwise  Massanello,  a  fisherman  of  Naples,  who  after 
spiriting  up  his  countrymen  in  the  public  market  place,  against  the  oppression 
of  the  Spaniards,  to  whom  the  place  was  then  subject,  prompted  them  to  revolt, 
and  in  the  space  of  a  day  became  King. — Author. 

VOL.  I. — 7 


lOO 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


what  relief  can  Britain  give  ?  Ere  she  could  hear  the  news, 
the  fatal  business  might  be  clone  ;  and  ourselves  suffering 
like  the  wretched  Britons  under  the  oppression  of  the  Con- 
queror. Ye  that  oppose  independance  now,  ye  know  not 
what  ye  do :  ye  are  opening  a  door  to  eternal  tyranny,  by 
keeping  vacant  the  seat  of  government.  There  are  thou- 
sands and  tens  of  thousands,  who  would  think  it  glorious  to 
expel  from  the  Continent,  that  barbarous  and  hellish  power, 
which  hath  stirred  up  the  Indians  and  the  Negroes  to  destroy 
us ;  the  cruelty  hath  a  double  guilt,  it  is  dealing  brutally  by 
us,  and  treacherously  by  them. 

To  talk  of  friendship  with  those  in  whom  our  reason  for- 
bids us  to  have  faith,  and  our  affections  wounded  thro'  a 
thousand  pores  instruct  us  to  detest,  is  madness  and  folly. 
Every  day  wears  out  the  little  remains  of  kindred  between 
us  and  them  ;  and  can  there  be  any  reason  to  hope,  that  as 
the  relationship  expires,  the  affection  will  encrease,  or  that 
we  shall  agree  better  when  we  have  ten  times  more  and 
greater  concerns  to  quarrel  over  than  ever? 

Ye  that  tell  us  of  harmony  and  reconciliation,  can  ye 
restore  to  us  the  time  that  is  past  ?  Can  ye  give  to  prosti- 
tution its  former  innocence?  neither  can  ye  reconcile  Britain 
and  America.  The  last  cord  now  is  broken,  the  people  of 
England  are  presenting  addresses  against  us.  There  are  in- 
juries which  nature  cannot  forgive ;  she  would  cease  to  be 
nature  if  she  did.  As  well  can  the  lover  forgive  the  ravisher 
of  his  mistress,  as  the  Continent  forgive  the  murders  of 
Britain.  The  Almighty  hath  implanted  in  us  these  unex- 
tinguishable  feelings  for  good  and  wise  purposes.  They  are 
the  Guardians  of  his  Image  in  our  hearts.  They  distinguish 
us  from  the  herd  of  common  animals.  The  social  compact 
would  dissolve,  and  justice  be  extirpated  from  the  earth,  or 
have  only  a  casual  existence  were  we  callous  to  the  touches 
of  affection.  The  robber  and  the  murderer  would  often 
escape  unpunished,  did  not  the  injuries  which  our  tempers 
sustain,  provoke  us  into  justice. 

O  !  ye  that  love  mankind  !  Ye  that  dare  oppose  not  only 
the  tyranny  but  the  tyrant,  stand  forth !    Every  spot  of  the 


1776]  COMMON  SENSE.  1 01 


old  world  is  overrun  with  oppression.  Freedom  hath  been 
hunted  round  the  Globe.  Asia  and  Africa  have  lon'g  ex- 
pelled her.  Europe  regards  her  like  a  stranger,  and  England 
hath  given  her  warning  to  depart.  O  !  receive  the  fugitive, 
and  prepare  in  time  an  asylum  for  mankind. 


OF    THE    PRESENT    ABILITY    OF    AMERICA :     WITH  SOME 
MISCELLANEOUS  REFLECTIONS. 

I  HAVE  never  met  with  a  man,  either  in  England  or 
America,  who  hath  not  confessed  his  opinion,  that  a  separa- 
tion between  the  countries  would  take  place  one  time  or 
other :  And  there  is  no  instance  in  which  we  have  shown 
less  judgment,  than  in  endeavoring  to  describe,  what  we  call, 
the  ripeness  or  fitness  of  the  Continent  for  independance. 

As  all  men  allow  the  measure,  and  vary  only  in  their 
opinion  of  the  time,  let  us,  in  order  to  remove  mistakes, 
take  a  general  survey  of  things,  and  endeavor  if  possible  to 
find  out  the  very  time.  But  I  need  not  go  far,  the  inquiry 
ceases  at  once,  for  the  time  hath  found  us.  The  general 
concurrence,  the  glorious  union  of  all  things,  proves  the 
fact. 

'Tis  not  in  numbers  but  in  unity  that  our  great  strength  lies : 
yet  our  present  numbers  are  sufificient  to  repel  the  force  of 
all  the  world.  The  Continent  hath  at  this  time  the  largest 
body  of  armed  and  disciplined  men  of  any  power  under 
Heaven:  and  is  just  arrived  at  that  pitch  of  strength,  in 
which  no  single  colony  is  able  to  support  itself,  and  the 
whole,  when  united,  is  able  to  do  anything.  Our  land  force 
is  more  than  sufficient,  and  as  to  Naval  affairs,  we  cannot  be 
insensible  that  Britain  would  never  suffer  an  American  man 
of  waF  to  be  built,  while  the  Continent  remained  in  her 
hands.  Wherefore,  we  should  be  no  forwarder  an  hundred 
years  hence  in  that  branch  than  we  are  now ;  but  the  truth 
is,  we  should  be  less  so,  because  the  timber  of  the  Country 
is  every  day  diminishing,  and  that  which  will  remain  at  last, 
will  be  far  off  or  difficult  to  procure. 


102  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


Were  the  Continent  crowded  with  inhabitants,  her  suffer- 
ings'under  the  present  circumstances  would  be  intolerable. 
The  more  seaport-towns  we  had,  the  more  should  we  have 
both  to  defend  and  to  lose.  Our  present  numbers  are  so 
happily  proportioned  to  our  wants,  that  no  man  need  be 
idle.  The  diminution  of  trade  affords  an  army,  and  the 
necessities  of  an  army  create  a  new  trade. 

Debts  we  have  none :  and  whatever  we  may  contract  on 
this  account  will  serve  as  a  glorious  memento  of  our  virtue. 
Can  we  but  leave  posterity  with  a  settled  form  of  govern- 
ment, an  independant  constitution  of  its  own,  the  purchase 
at  any  price  will  be  cheap.  But  to  expend  millions  for  the 
sake  of  getting  a  few  vile  acts  repealed,  and  routing  the 
present  ministry  only,  is  unworthy  the  charge,  and  is  using 
posterity  with  the  utmost  cruelty ;  because  it  is  leaving 
them  the  great  work  to  do,  and  a  debt  upon  their  backs 
from  which  they  derive  no  advantage.  Such  a  thought 's 
unworthy  a  man  of  honour,  and  is  the  true  characteristic  of 
a  narrow  heart  and  a  pidling  politician. 

The  debt  we  may  contract  doth  not  deserve  our  regard  if 
the  work  be  but  accomplished.  No  nation  ought  to  be 
without  a  debt.  A  national  debt  is  a  national  bond ;  and 
when  it  bears  no  interest,  is  in  no  case  a  grievance.  Britain 
is  oppressed  with  a  debt  of  upwards  of  one  hundred  and 
forty  millions  sterling,  for  which  she  pays  upwards  of  four 
millions  interest.  And  as  a  compensation  for  her  debt,  she 
has  a  large  navy  ;  America  is  without  a  debt,  and  without  a 
navy  ;  yet  for  the  twentieth  part  of  the  English  national 
debt,  could  have  a  navy  as  large  again.  The  navy  of  Eng- 
land is  not  worth  at  this  time  more  than  three  millions  and 
a  half  sterling. 

The  first  and  second  editions  of  this  pamphlet  were  pub- 
lished without  the  following  calculations,  which  are  now 
given  as  a  proof  that  the  above  estimation  of  the  navy  is  a 
just  one.    See  Entic's  "  Naval  History,"  Intro.,  p.  56. 

The  charge  of  building  a  ship  of  each  rate,  and  furnishing 
her  with  masts,  yards,  sails,  and  rigging,  together  with  a 


1776]  COMMON  SENSE.  103 


proportion  of  eight  months  boatswain's  and  carpenter's  sea- 
stores,  as  calculated  by  Mr.  Burchett,  Secretary  to  the  navy. 


For  a  ship  of  loo  guns,       .  .  35,553  ^. 

90  .  .  29,886 

80  .  .  23,638 

70  .  .  17,785 

60  .  .  14,197 

50  .  .  10,606 

40  •  .  7,558 

30  .  .  5,846 

20  .  .  3,710 


And  hence  it  is  easy  to  sum  up  the  value,  or  cost,  rather, 
of  the  whole  British  navy,  which,  in  the  year  1757,  when  it 
was  at  its  greatest  glory,  consisted  of  the  following  ships 
and  guns. 


Skips,  Guns. 

Cost  of  one. 

Cost  of  all. 

6       .  100 

55.553/. 

213,318  /. 

12       .  90 

29,886 

358,632 

12       .  80 

23,638 

283,656 

43       .  70 

17.785 

764.755 

35       •  60 

14.197 

496,895 

40       .  50 

10,605 

424,240 

45       ■  40 

7,558 

340,110 

58       .  20 

3.710 

215,180 

85  Sloops,  bombs,  and 

fireships,  one 

with 

1  2,000 

170,000 

another,  at 

Cost, 

3,266,786/. 

Remains  for  guns, 

233.214 

Total, 

3,500,000/. 

No  country  on  the  globe  is  so  happily  situated,  or  so 
internally  capable  of  raising  a  fleet  as  America.  Tar,  timber, 
iron,  and  cordage  are  her  natural  produce.  We  need  go 
abroad  for  nothing.  Whereas  the  Dutch,  who  make  large 
profits  by  hiring  out  their  ships  of  war  to  the  Spaniards  and 
Portugese,  are  obliged  to  import  most  of  the  materials  they 
use.  We  ought  to  view  the  building  a  fleet  as  an  article  of 
commerce,  it  being  the  natural  manufactory  of  this  country. 


104  ^^-^  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


'Tis  the  best  money  we  can  lay  out.  A  navy  when  finished 
is  worth  more  than  it  cost :  And  is  that  nice  point  in  na- 
tional policy,  in  which  commerce  and  protection  are  united. 
Let  us  build  ;  if  we  want  them  not,  we  can  sell ;  and  by  that 
means  replace  our  paper  currency  with  ready  gold  and  silver. 

In  point  of  manning  a  fleet,  people  in  general  run  into 
great  errors  ;  it  is  not  necessary  that  one  fourth  part  should 
be  sailors.  The  Terrible  privateer,  captain  Death,  stood  the 
hottest  engagement  of  any  ship  last  war,  yet  had  not  twenty 
sailors  on  board,  though  her  complement  of  men  was  up- 
wards of  two  hundred.  A  few  able  and  social  sailors  will 
soon  instruct  a  sufificient  number  of  active  landsmen  in  the 
common  work  of  a  ship.  Wherefore  we  never  can  be  more 
capable  of  beginning  on  maritime  matters  than  now,  while 
our  timber  is  standing,  our  fisheries  blocked  up,  and  our 
sailors  and  shipwrights  out  of  employ.  Men  of  war,  of 
seventy  and  eighty  guns,  were  built  forty  years  ago  in  New 
England,  and  why  not  the  same  now?  Ship  building  is 
America's  greatest  pride,  and  in  which  she  will,  in  time, 
excel  the  whole  world.  The  great  empires  of  the  east  are 
mostly  inland,  and  consequently  excluded  from  the  possi- 
bility of  rivalling  her.  Africa  is  in  a  state  of  barbarism  ;  and 
no  power  in  Europe,  hath  either  such  an  extent  of  coast,  or 
such  an  internal  supply  of  materials.  Where  nature  hath 
given  the  one,  she  hath  withheld  the  other ;  to  America 
only  hath  she  been  liberal  to  both.  The  vast  empire  of 
Russia  is  almost  shut  out  from  the  sea ;  wherefore  her 
boundless  forests,  her  tar,  iron,  and  cordage  are  only  articles 
of  commerce. 

In  point  of  safety,  ought  we  to  be  without  a  fleet  ?  We 
are  not  the  little  people  now,  which  we  were  sixty  years  ago; 
at  that  time  we  might  have  trusted  our  property  in  the 
streets,  or  fields  rather,  and  slept  securely  without  locks  or 
bolts  to  our  doors  and  windows.  The  case  is  now  altered, 
and  our  methods  of  defence  ought  to  improve  with  our  en- 
crease  of  property.  A  common  pirate,  twelve  months  ago, 
might  have  come  up  the  Delaware,  and  laid  the  city  of 
Philadelphia  under  contribution  for  what  sum  he  pleased ; 


t 


1776]  COMMON  SENSE.  I05 


and  the  same  might  have  happened  to  other  places.  Nay, 
any  daring  fellow,  in  a  brig  of  fourteen  or  sixteen  guns, 
might  have  robbed  the  whole  Continent,  and  carried  off  half 
a  million  of  money.  These  are  circumstances  which  de- 
mand our  attention,  and  point  out  the  necessity  of  naval 
protection. 

Some  perhaps  will  say,  that  after  we  have  made  it  up  with 
Britain,  she  will  protect  us.  Can  they  be  so  unwise  as  to 
mean,  that  she  will  keep  a  navy  in  our  Harbours  for  that 
purpose  ?  Common  sense  will  tell  us,  that  the  power  which 
hath  endeavoured  to  subdue  us,  is  of  all  others,  the  most 
improper  to  defend  us.  Conquest  may  be  effected  under 
the  pretence  of  friendship;  and  ourselves,  after  a  long  and 
brave  resistance,  be  at  last  cheated  into  slavery.  And  if  her 
ships  are  not  to  be  admitted  into  our  harbours,  I  would  ask, 
how  is  she  to  protect  us  ?  A  navy  three  or  four  thousand 
miles  off  can  be  of  little  use,  and  on  sudden  emergencies, 
none  at  all.  Wherefore  if  we  must  hereafter  protect  our- 
selves, why  not  do  it  for  ourselves  ?  Why  do  it  for 
another  ? 

The  English  list  of  ships  of  war,  is  long  and  formidable, 
but  not  a  tenth  part  of  them  are  at  any  one  time  fit  for  ser- 
vice, numbers  of  them  are  not  in  being;  yet  their  names  are 
pompously  continued  in  the  list,  if  only  a  plank  be  left  of  the 
ship :  and  not  a  fifth  part  of  such  as  are  fit  for  service,  can  be 
spared  on  any  one  station  at  one  time.  The  East  and  West 
Indies,  Mediterranean,  Africa,  and  other  parts,  over  which 
Britain  extends  her  claim,  make  large  demands  upon  her 
navy.  From  a  mixture  of  prejudice  and  inattention,  we 
have  contracted  a  false  notion  respecting  the  navy  of  Eng- 
land, and  have  talked  as  if  we  should  have  the  whole  of  it  to 
encounter  at  once,  and,  for  that  reason,  supposed  that  we 
must  have  one  as  large ;  which  not  being  instantly  practi- 
cable, has  been  made  use  of  by  a  set  of  disguised  Tories  to 
discourage  our  beginning  thereon.  Nothing  can  be  further 
from  truth  than  this ;  for  if  America  had  only  a  twentieth 
part  of  the  naval  force  of  Britain,  she  would  be  by  far  an 
over-match  for  her;  because,  as  we  neither  have,  nor  claim 


io6 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


any  foreign  dominion,  our  whole  force  would  be  employed  on 
our  own  coast,  where  we  should,  in  the  long  run,  have  two  to 
one  the  advantage  of  those  who  had  three  or  four  thousand 
miles  to  sail  over,  before  they  could  attack  us,  and  the  same 
distance  to  return  in  order  to  refit  and  recruit.  And  although 
Britain,  by  her  fleet,  hath  a  check  over  our  trade  to  Europe, 
we  have  as  large  a  one  over  her  trade  to  the  West  Indies, 
which,  by  laying  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Continent,  lies 
entirely  at  its  mercy. 

Some  method  might  be  fallen  on  to  keep  up  a  naval  force 
in  time  of  peace,  if  we  should  not  judge  it  necessary  to  sup- 
port a  constant  navy.  If  premiums  were  to  be  given  to 
Merchants  to  build  and  employ  in  their  service,  ships 
mounted  with  twenty,  thirty,  forty,  or  fifty  guns,  (the  pre- 
miums to  be  in  proportion  to  the  loss  of  bulk  to  the  mer- 
chant,) fifty  or  sixty  of  those  ships,  with  a  few  guardships  on 
constant  duty,  would  keep  up  a  sufificient  navy,  and  that 
without  burdening  ourselves  with  the  evil  so  loudly  com- 
plained of  in  England,  of  suffering  their  fleet  in  time  of  peace 
to  lie  rotting  in  the  docks.  To  unite  the  sinews  of  commerce 
and  defence  is  sound  policy ;  for  when  our  strength  and  our 
riches  play  into  each  other's  hand,  we  need  fear  no  external 
enemy. 

In  almost  every  article  of  defence  we  abound.  Hemp 
flourishes  even  to  rankness,  so  that  we  need  not  want  cordage. 
Our  iron  is  superior  to  that  of  other  countries.  Our  small 
arms  equal  to  any  in  the  world.  Cannon  we  can  cast  at 
pleasure.  Saltpetre  and  gunpowder  we  are  every  day  pro- 
ducing. Our  knowledge  is  hourly  improving.  Resolution  is 
our  inherent  character,  and  courage  hath  never  yet  forsaken 
us.  Wherefore,  what  is  it  that  we  want  ?  Why  is  it  that  we 
hesitate  ?  From  Britain  we  can  expect  nothing  but  ruin.  If 
she  is  once  admitted  to  the  government  of  America  again, 
this  Continent  will  not  be  worth  living  in.  Jealousies  will 
be  always  arising  ;  insurrections  will  be  constantly  happening  ; 
and  who  will  go  forth  to  quell  them?  Who  will  venture  his 
life  to  reduce  his  own  countrymen  to  a  foreign  obedience? 
The   difference    between  Pennsylvania   and  Connecticut, 


I776j  COMMON  SENSE.  I07 


respecting  some  unlocated  lands,  shows  the  insignificance  of 
a  British  government,  and  fully  proves  that  nothing  but  Con- 
tinental authority  can  regulate  Continental  matters. 

Another  reason  why  the  present  time  is  preferable  to  all 
others,  is,  that  the  fewer  our  numbers  are,  the  more  land  there 
is  yet  unoccupied,  which,  instead  of  being  lavished  by  the 
king  on  his  worthless  dependants,  may  be  hereafter  applied, 
not  only  to  the  discharge  of  the  present  debt,  but  to  the  con- 
stant support  of  government.  No  nation  under  Heaven  hath 
such  an  advantage  as  this. 

The  infant  state  of  the  Colonies,  as  it  is  called,  so  far  from 
being  against,  is  an  argument  in  favour  of  independance.  We 
are  sufificiently  numerous,  and  were  we  more  so  we  might  be 
less  united.  'Tis  a  matter  worthy  of  observation,  that  the 
more  a  country  is  peopled,  the  smaller  their  armies  are.  In 
military  numbers,  the  ancients  far  exceeded  the  moderns : 
and  the  reason  is  evident,  for  trade  being  the  consequence  of 
population,  men  became  too  much  absorbed  thereby  to  attend 
to  any  thing  else.  Commerce  diminishes  the  spirit  both  of 
patriotism  and  military  defence.  And  history  sufificiently 
informs  us,  that  the  bravest  achievements  were  always 
accomplished  in  the  non-age  of  a  nation.  With  the  increase 
of  commerce  England  hath  lost  its  spirit.  The  city  of  Lon- 
don, notwithstanding  its  numbers,  submits  to  continued 
insults  with  the  patience  of  a  coward.  The  more  men  have 
to  lose,  the  less  willing  are  they  to  venture.  The  rich  are  in 
general  slaves  to  fear,  and  submit  to  courtly  power  with  the 
trembling  duplicity  of  a  spaniel. 

Youth  is  the  seed-time  of  good  habits  as  well  in  nations  as 
in  individuals.  It  might  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to 
form  the  Continent  into  one  Government  half  a  century 
hence.  The  vast  variety  of  interests,  occasioned  by  an  in- 
crease of  trade  and  population,  would  create  confusion. 
Colony  would  be  against  Colony.  Each  being  able  would 
scorn  each  other's  assistance  :  and  while  the  proud  and  foolish 
gloried  in  their  little  distinctions,  the  wise  would  lament  that 
the  union  had  not  been  formed  before.  Wherefore  the 
•       present  time  is  the  true  time  for  establishing  it.    The  inti- 


I08  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


macy  which  is  contracted  in  infancy,  and  the  friendship  which 
is  formed  in  misfortune,  are  of  all  others  the  most  lasting  and 
unalterable.  Our  present  union  is  marked  with  both  these 
characters  :  we  are  young,  and  we  have  been  distressed  ;  but 
our  concord  hath  withstood  our  troubles,  and  fixes  a  mem- 
orable ^ra  for  posterity  to  glory  in. 

The  present  time,  likewise,  is  that  peculiar  time  which 
never  happens  to  a  nation  but  once,  viz.  the  time  of  forming 
itself  into  a  government.  Most  nations  have  let  slip  the 
opportunity,  and  by  that  means  have  been  compelled  to 
receive  laws  from  their  conquerors,  instead  of  making  laws 
for  themselves.  First,  they  had  a  king,  and  then  a  form  of 
government ;  whereas  the  articles  or  charter  of  government 
should  be  formed  first,  and  men  delegated  to  execute  them 
afterwards  :  but  from  the  errors  of  other  nations  let  us  learn 
wisdom,  and  lay  hold  of  the  present  opportunity — to  begin 
governnic7it  at  the  right  end. 

When  William  the  Conqueror  subdued  England,  he  gave 
them  law  at  the  point  of  the  sword  ;  and,  until  we  consent 
that  the  seat  of  government  in  America  be  legally  and 
authoritatively  occupied,  we  shall  be  in  danger  of  having  it 
filled  by  some  fortunate  ruf¥ian,  who  may  treat  us  in  the 
same  manner,  and  then,  where  will  be  our  freedom  ?  where 
our  property  ? 

As  to  religion,  I  hold  it  to  be  the  indispensable  duty  of 
government  to  protect  all  conscientious  professors  thereof, 
and  I  know  of  no  other  business  which  government  hath  to 
do  therewith.  Let  a  man  throw  aside  that  narrowness  of 
soul,  that  selfishness  of  principle,  which  the  niggards  of  all 
professions  are  so  unwilling  to  part  with,  and  he  will  be  at 
once  delivered  of  his  fears  on  that  head.  Suspicion  is  the 
companion  of  mean  souls,  and  the  bane  of  all  good  society. 
For  myself,  I  fully  and  conscientiously  believe,  that  it  is  the 
will  of  the  Almighty  that  there  should  be  a  diversity  of  re- 
ligious opinions  among  us.  It  affords  a  larger  field  for  our 
Christian  kindness :  were  we  all  of  one  way  of  thinking,  our 
religious  dispositions  would  want  matter  for  probation  ;  and 
on  this  liberal  principle  I  look  on  the  various  denominations 


1776]  COMMON  SENSE.  IO9 


among  us,  to  be  like  children  of  the  same  family,  differing 
only  in  what  is  called  their  Christian  names. 

In  page  [97]  I  threw  out  a  few  thoughts  on  the  propriety 
of  a  Continental  Charter  (for  I  only  presume  to  offer  hints, 
not  plans)  and  in  this  place,  I  take  the  liberty  of  re-mention- 
ing the  subject,  by  observing,  that  a  charter  is  to  be  under- 
stood as  a  bond  of  solemn  obligation,  which  the  whole  enters 
into,  to  support  the  right  of  every  separate  part,  whether  of 
religion,  professional  freedom,  or  property.  A  firm  bargain 
and  a  right  reckoning  make  long  friends. 

I  have  heretofore  likewise  mentioned  the  necessity  of  a 
large  and  equal  representation  ;  and  there  is  no  political 
matter  which  more  deserves  our  attention.  A  small  number 
of  electors,  or  a  small  number  of  representatives,  are  equally 
dangerous.  But  if  the  number  of  the  representatives  be  not 
only  small,  but  unequal,  the  danger  is  encreased.  As  an  in- 
stance of  this,  I  mention  the  following  ;  when  the  petition 
of  the  associators  was  before  the  House  of  Assembly  of 
Pennsylvania,  twenty-eight  members  only  were  present ;  all 
the  Bucks  county  members,  being  eight,  voted  against  it, 
and  had  seven  of  the  Chester  members  done  the  same,  this 
whole  province  had  been  governed  by  two  counties  only ; 
and  this  danger  it  is  always  exposed  to.  The  unwarrantable 
stretch  likewise,  which  that  house  made  in  their  last  sitting, 
to  gain  an  undue  authority  over  the  Delegates  of  that 
Province,  ought  to  warn  the  people  at  large,  how  they  trust 
power  out  of  their  own  hands.  A  set  of  instructions  for 
their  Delegates  were  put  together,  which  in  point  of  sense 
and  business  would  have  dishonoured  a  school-boy,  and  after 
being  approved  by  a  few,  a  very  few,  without  doors,  were 
carried  into  the  house,  and  there  passed  in  behalf  of  the 
zvhole  Colony ;  whereas,  did  the  whole  colony  know  with 
what  ill  will  that  house  had  entered  on  some  necessary  pub- 
lic measures,  they  would  not  hesitate  a  moment  to  think 
them  unworthy  of  such  a  trust. 

Immediate  necessity  makes  many  things  convenient,  which 
if  continued  would  grow  into  oppressions.  Expedience  and 
right  are  different  things.    When  the  calamities  of  America 


no  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


required  a  consultation,  there  was  no  method  so  ready,  or  at 
that  time  so  proper,  as  to  appoint  persons  from  the  several 
houses  of  Assembly  for  that  purpose ;  and  the  wisdom  with 
which  they  have  proceeded  hath  preserved  this  Continent 
from  ruin.  But  as  it  is  more  than  probable  that  we  shall 
never  be  without  a  CONGRESS,  every  well  wisher  to  good 
order  must  own  that  the  mode  for  choosing  members  of 
that  body,  deserves  consideration.  And  I  put  it  as  a  ques- 
tion to  those  who  make  a  study  of  mankind,  whether  repre- 
sentation and  election  is  not  too  great  a  power  for  one  and 
the  same  body  of  men  to  possess?  When  we  are  planning 
for  posterity,  we  ought  to  remember  that  virtue  is  not 
hereditary. 

It  is  from  our  enemies  that  we  often  gain  excellent 
maxims,  and  are  frequently  surprised  into  reason  by  their 
mistakes.  Mr.  Cornwall  (one  of  the  Lords  of  the  Treasury) 
treated  the  petition  of  the  New  York  Assembly  with  con- 
tempt, because  that  house,  he  said,  consisted  but  of  twenty- 
six  members,  which  trifling  number,  he  argued,  could  not 
with  decency  be  put  for  the  whole.  We  thank  him  for  his 
involuntary  honesty.* 

To  CONCLUDE,  however  strange  it  may  appear  to  some, 
or  however  unwilling  they  may  be  to  think  so,  matters  not, 
but  many  strong  and  striking  reasons  may  be  given  to  show, 
that  nothing  can  settle  our  affairs  so  expeditiously  as  an 
open  and  determined  declaration  for  independance.  Some 
of  which  are. 

First — It  is  the  custom  of  Nations,  when  any  two  are  at 
war,  for  some  other  powers,  not  engaged  in  the  quarrel,  to 
step  in  as  mediators,  and  bring  about  the  preliminaries  of  a 
peace:  But  while  America  calls  herself  the  subject  of  Great 
Britain,  no  power,  however  well  disposed  she  may  be,  can 
offer  her  mediation.  Wherefore,  in  our  present  state  we 
may  quarrel  on  for  ever. 

Secondly — It  is  unreasonable  to  suppose,  that  France  or 

*  Those  who  would  fully  understand  of  what  great  consequence  a  large  and 
equal  representation  is  to  a  state,  should  read  Burgh's  Political  Disquisitions . — 
A  uthor. 


1776]  COMMON  SENSE.  Ill 


Spain  will  give  us  any  kind  of  assistance,  if  we  mean  only  to 
make  use  of  that  assistance  for  the  purpose  of  repairing  the 
breach,  and  strengthening  the  connection  between  Britain 
and  America  ;  because,  those  powers  would  be  sufferers  by 
the  consequences. 

Thirdly — While  we  profess  ourselves  the  subjects  of 
Britain,  we  must,  in  the  eyes  of  foreign  nations,  be  consid- 
ered as  Rebels.  The  precedent  is  somewhat  dangerous  to 
their  peace,  for  men  to  be  in  arms  under  the  name  of  sub- 
jects :  we,  on  the  spot,  can  solve  the  paradox ;  but  to  unite 
resistance  and  subjection,  requires  an  idea  much  too  refined 
for  common  understanding. 

Fourthly — Were  a  manifesto  to  be  published,  and  des- 
patched to  foreign  Courts,  setting  forth  the  miseries  we  have 
endured,  and  the  peaceful  methods  which  we  have  ineffectu- 
ally used  for  redress  ;  declaring  at  the  same  time,  that  not 
being  able  any  longer  to  live  happily  or  safely  under  the  cruel 
disposition  of  the  British  Court,  we  had  been  driven  to  the 
necessity  of  breaking  off  all  connections  with  her ;  at  the 
same  time,  assuring  all  such  Courts  of  our  peaceable  disposi- 
tion towards  them,  and  of  our  desire  of  entering  into  trade 
with  them :  such  a  memorial  would  produce  more  good 
effects  to  this  Continent,  than  if  a  ship  were  freighted  with 
petitions  to  Britain. 

Under  our  present  denomination  of  British  subjects,  we 
can  neither  be  received  nor  heard  abroad  :  the  custom  of  all 
Courts  is  against  us,  and  will  be  so,  until  by  an  independance 
we  take  rank  with  other  nations. 

These  proceedings  may  at  first  seem  strange  and  difficult, 
but  like  all  other  steps  which  we  have  already  passed  over, 
will  in  a  little  time  become  familiar  and  agreeable :  and 
until  an  independance  is  declared,  the  Continent  will  feel 
itself  like  a  man  who  continues  putting  off  some  unpleasant 
business  from  day  to  day,  yet  knows  it  must  be  done,  hates 
to  set  about  it,  wishes  it  over,  and  is  continually  haunted 
with  the  thoughts  of  its  necessity. 


APPENDIX  TO  COMMON  SENSE. 


Since  the  publication  of  the  first  edition  of  this  pamphlet, 
or  rather,  on  the  same  day  on  which  it  came  out,  the  King's 
Speech  made  its  appearance  in  this  city  [Philadelphia]. 
Had  the  spirit  of  prophecy  directed  the  birth  of  this 
production,  it  could  not  have  brought  it  forth  at  a  more 
seasonable  juncture,  or  at  a  more  necessary  time.  The 
bloody-mindedness  of  the  one,  shows  the  necessity  of  pur- 
suing the  doctrine  of  the  other.  Men  read  by  way  of 
revenge.  And  the  Speech,  instead  of  terrifying,  prepared  a 
way  for  the  manly  principles  of  Independance. 

Ceremony,  and  even  silence,  from  whatever  motives  they 
may  arise,  have  a  hurtful  tendency  when  they  give  the  least 
degree  of  countenance  to  base  and  wicked  performances; 
wherefore,  if  this  maxim  be  admitted,  it  naturally  follows, 
that  the  King's  Speech,  as  being  a  piece  of  finished  villany, 
deserved  and  still  deserves,  a  general  execration,  both  by 
the  Congress  and  the  people.  Yet,  as  the  domestic  tran- 
quillity of  a  nation,  depends  greatly  on  the  chastity  of  what 
might  properly  be  called  NATIONAL  MANNERS,  it  is  often 
better  to  pass  some  things  over  in  silent  disdain,  than  to 
make  use  of  such  new  methods  of  dislike,  as  might  introduce 
the  least  innovation  on  that  guardian  of  our  peace  and 
safety.  And,  perhaps,  it  is  chiefly  owing  to  this  prudent 
delicacy,  that  the  King's  Speech  hath  not  before  now  suffered 
a  public  execution.  The  Speech,  if  it  may  be  called  one,  is 
nothing  better  than  a  wilful  audacious  libel  against  the 
truth,  the  common  good,  and  the  existence  of  mankind  ; 
and  is  a  formal  and  pompous  method  of  offering  up  human 
sacrifices  to  the  pride  of  tyrants.  But  this  general  massacre 
of  mankind,  is  one  of  the  privileges  and  the  certain  con- 
sequences of  Kings ;  for  as  nature  knows  them  not,  they 
know  not  her,  and  although  they  are  beings  of  our  own 

112 


1776]  COMMON  SENSE.  II3 


creating,  they  know  not  us,  and  are  beconne  the  Gods  of 
their  creators.  The  speech  hath  one  good  quality,  which  is, 
that  it  is  not  calculated  to  deceive,  neither  can  we,  even  if 
we  would,  be  deceived  by  it.  Brutality  and  tyranny  appear 
on  the  face  of  it.  It  leaves  us  at  no  loss :  And  every  line 
convinces,  even  in  the  moment  of  reading,  that  he  who 
hunts  the  woods  for  prey,  the  naked  and  untutored  Indian, 
is  less  Savage  than  the  King  of  Britain. 

Sir  John  Dalrymple,  the  putative  father  of  a  whining 
Jesuitical  piece,  fallaciously  called,  "  The  address  of  the  people 
of  England  to  the  inhabitants  of  America,"  hath  perhaps 
from  a  vain  supposition  that  the  people  here  were  to  be 
frightened  at  the  pomp  and  description  of  a  king,  given 
(though  very  unwisely  on  his  part)  the  real  character  of  the 
present  one:  "  But,"  says  this  writer,  "if  you  are  inclined 
to  pay  compliments  to  an  administration,  which  we  do  not 
complain  of  (meaning  the  Marquis  of  Rockingham's  at  the 
repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act)  it  is  very  unfair  in  you  to  withhold 
them  from  that  prince,  by  whose  NOD  ALONE  they  were  per- 
mitted to  do  any  thitig^  This  is  toryism  with  a  witness ! 
Here  is  idolatry  even  without  a  mask :  And  he  who  can 
calmly  hear  and  digest  such  doctrine,  hath  forfeited  his  claim 
to  rationality — an  apostate  from  the  order  of  manhood— and 
ought  to  be  considered  as  one  who  hath  not  only  given  up 
the  proper  dignity  of  man,  but  sunk  himself  beneath  the 
rank  of  animals,  and  contemptibly  crawls  through  the  world 
like  a  worm. 

However,  it  matters  very  little  now  what  the  king  of 
England  either  says  or  does ;  he  hath  wickedly  broken 
through  every  moral  and  human  obligation,  trampled  nature 
and  conscience  beneath  his  feet,  and  by  a  steady  and  con- 
stitutional spirit  of  insolence  and  cruelty  procured  for  him- 
self an  universal  hatred.  It  is  now  the  interest  of  America 
to  provide  for  herself.  She  hath  already  a  large  and  young 
family,  whom  it  is  more  her  duty  to  take  care  of,  than  to  be 
granting  away  her  property  to  support  a  power  who  is  be- 
come a  reproach  to  the  names  of  men  and  christians — Ye, 
whose  ofifice  it  is  to  watch  the  morals  of  a  nation,  of  what- 

vot,.  I  — 8 


114  Tfi^   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


soever  sect  or  denomination  ye  are  of,  as  well  as  ye  who  are 
more  immediately  the  guardians  of  the  public  liberty,  if  ye 
wish  to  preserve  your  native  country  uncontaminated  by 
European  corruption,  ye  must  in  secret  wish  a  separation. 
But  leaving  the  moral  part  to  private  reflection,  I  shall 
chiefly  confine  my  further  remarks  to  the  following  heads : 
First,  That  it  is  the  interest  of  America  to  be  separated 
from  Britain. 

Secondly,  Which  is  the  easiest  and  most  practicable  plan, 
RECONCILIATION  or  INDEPENDENCE?  with  some  occasional 
remarks. 

In  support  of  the  first,  I  could,  if  I  judged  it  proper,  pro- 
duce the  opinion  of  some  of  the  ablest  and  most  experienced 
men  on  this  continent :  and  whose  sentiments  on  that  head, 
are  not  yet  publicly  known.  It  is  in  reality  a  self-evident 
position :  for  no  nation  in  a  state  of  foreign  dependance, 
limited  in  its  commerce,  and  cramped  and  fettered  in  its 
legislative  powers,  can  ever  arrive  at  any  material  eminence. 
America  doth  not  yet  know  what  opulence  is  ;  and  although 
the  progress  which  she  hath  made  stands  unparalleled  in  the 
history  of  other  nations,  it  is  but  childhood  compared  with 
what  she  would  be  capable  of  arriving  at,  had  she,  as  she 
ought  to  have,  the  legislative  powers  in  her  own  hands. 
England  is  at  this  time  proudly  coveting  what  would  do  her 
no  good  were  she  to  accomplish  it ;  and  the  continent 
hesitating  on  a  matter  which  will  be  her  final  ruin  if  neg- 
lected. It  is  the  commerce  and  not  the  conquest  of  America 
by  which  England  is  to  be  benefited,  and  that  would  in  a 
great  measure  continue,  were  the  countries  as  independant 
of  each  other  as  France  and  Spain  ;  because  in  many  articles 
neither  can  go  to  a  better  market.  But  it  is  the  indepen- 
dance  of  this  country  of  Britain,  or  any  other,  which  is  now 
the  main  and  only  object  worthy  of  contention,  and  which, 
like  all  other  truths  discovered  by  necessity,  will  appear  clear 
and  stronger  every  day. 

First,  Because  it  will  come  to  that  one  time  or  other. 

Secondly,  Because  the  longer  it  is  delayed,  the  harder  it 
will  be  to  accomplish. 


COMMON  SENSE. 


I  have  frequently  amused  myself  both  in  public  and  private 
companies,  with  silently  remarking  the  specious  errors  of 
those  who  speak  without  reflecting.  And  among  the  many 
which  I  have  heard,  the  following  seems  the  most  general, 
viz.  that  had  this  rupture  happened  forty  or  fifty  years  hence, 
instead  of  now,  the  continent  would  have  been  more  able  to 
have  shaken  off  the  dependance.  To  which  I  reply,  that  our 
military  ability,  at  tins  tivie,  arises  from  the  experience  gained 
in  the  last  war,  and  which  in  forty  or  fifty  years  time,  would 
be  totally  extinct.  The  continent  would  not,  by  that  time, 
have  a  general,  or  even  a  military  officer  left ;  and  we,  or 
those  who  may  succeed  us,  would  be  as  ignorant  of  martial 
matters  as  the  ancient  Indians :  and  this  single  position, 
closely  attended  to,  will  unanswerably  prove  that  the  present 
time  is  preferable  to  all  others.  The  argument  turns  thus  : 
At  the  conclusion  of  the  last  war,  we  had  experience,  but 
wanted  numbers  ;  and  forty  or  fifty  years  hence,  we  shall 
have  numbers,  without  experience ;  wherefore,  the  proper 
point  of  time,  must  be  some  particular  point  between  the 
two  extremes,  in  which  a  sufificiency  of  the  former  remains, 
and  a  proper  increase  of  the  latter  is  obtained  :  And  that 
point  of  time  is  the  present  time. 

The  reader  will  pardon  this  digression,  as  it  does  not 
properly  come  under  the  head  I  first  set  out  with,  and  to 
which  I  again  return  by  the  following  position,  viz. : 

Should  affairs  be  patched  up  with  Britain,  and  she  to  re- 
main the  governing  and  sovereign  power  of  America,  (which, 
as  matters  are  now  circumstanced,  is  giving  up  the  point 
entirely)  we  shall  deprive  ourselves  of  the  very  means  of 
sinking  the  debt  we  have,  or  may  contract.  The  value  of 
the  back  lands,  which  some  of  the  provinces  are  clandestinely 
deprived  of,  by  the  unjust  extension  of  the  limits  of  Canada, 
valued  only  at  five  pounds  sterling  per  hundred  acres,  amount 
to  upwards  of  twenty-five  millions,  Pennsylvania  currency ; 
and  the  quit-rents,  at  one  penny  sterling  per  acre,  to  two  mil- 
lions yearly. 

It  is  by  the  sale  of  those  lands  that  the  debt  may  be  sunk, 
without  burthen  to  any,  and  the  quit-rent  reserved  thereon 


ii6 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


will  always  lessen,  and  in  time  will  wholly  support,  the  yearly 
expense  of  government.  It  matters  not  how  long  the  debt 
is  in  paying,  so  that  the  lands  when  sold  be  applied  to  the 
discharge  of  it,  and  for  the  execution  of  which  the  Congress 
for  the  time  being  will  be  the  continental  trustees. 

I  proceed  now  to  the  second  head,  viz.  Which  is  the 
easiest  and  most  practicable  plan,  Reconciliation  or  Inde- 
pendence ;  with  some  occasional  remarks. 

He  who  takes  nature  for  his  guide,  is  not  easily  beaten  out 
of  his  argument,  and  on  that  ground,  I  answer  generally — 
Thai  independance  being  a  single  simple  line,  contained  within 
ourselves  ;  and  reconciliation,  a  matter  exceedingly  perplexed 
and  complicated,  and  in  tvhich  a  treacherous  capricioiis  court  is 
to  interfere,  gives  the  anszvcr  without  a  doubt. 

The  present  state  of  America  is  truly  alarming  to  every 
man  who  is  capable  of  reflection.  Without  law,  without 
government,  without  any  other  mode  of  power  than  what  is 
founded  on,  and  granted  by,  courtesy.  Held  together  by  an 
unexampled  occurrence  of  sentiment,  which  is  nevertheless 
subject  to  change,  and  which  every  secret  enemy  is  endeavor- 
ing to  dissolve.  Our  present  condition  is,  Legislation  without 
law;  wisdom  without  a  plan  ;  a  constitution  without  a  name  ; 
and,  what  is  strangely  astonishing,  perfect  independance  con- 
tending for  dependance.  The  instance  is  without  a  precedent, 
the  case  never  existed  before,  and  who  can  tell  what  may  be 
the  event  ?  The  property  of  no  man  is  secure  in  the  present 
unbraced  system  of  things.  The  mind  of  the  multitude  is 
left  at  random,  and  seeing  no  fixed  object  before  them,  they 
pursue  such  as  fancy  or  opinion  presents.  Nothing  is  criminal ; 
there  is  no  such  thing  as  treason ;  wherefore,  every  one 
thinks  himself  at  liberty  to  act  as  he  pleases.  The  Tories 
would  not  have  dared  to  assemble  offensively,  had  they 
known  that  their  lives,  by  that  act,  were  forfeited  to  the  laws 
of  the  state.  A  line  of  distinction  should  be  drawn  between 
English  soldiers  taken  in  battle,  and  inhabitants  of  America 
taken  in  arms.  The  first  are  prisoners,  but  the  latter  traitors. 
The  one  forfeits  his  liberty,  the  other  his  head. 

Notwithstanding  our  wisdom,  there  is  a  visible  feebleness 


COMMON  SENSE. 


117 


in  some  of  our  proceedings  which  gives  encouragement  to 
dissentions.  The  Continental  Belt  is  too  loosely  buckled : 
And  if  something  is  not  done  in  time,  it  will  be  too  late  to  do 
any  thing,  and  we  shall  fall  into  a  state,  in  which  neither 
Reconciliation  nor  Independance  will  be  practicable.  The 
king  and  his  worthless  adherents  are  got  at  their  old  game  of 
dividing  the  Continent,  and  there  are  not  wanting  among  us 
Printers  who  will  be  busy  in  spreading  specious  falsehoods. 
The  artful  and  hypocritical  letter  which  appeared  a  few 
months  ago  in  two  of  the  New-York  papers,  and  likewise  in 
two  others,  is  an  evidence  that  there  are  men  who  want  both 
judgment  and  honesty. 

It  is  easy  getting  into  holes  and  corners,  and  talking  of 
reconciliation :  But  do  such  men  seriously  consider  how 
difficult  the  task  is,  and  how  dangerous  it  may  prove,  should 
the  Continent  divide  thereon  ?  Do  they  take  within  their 
view  all  the  various  orders  of  men  whose  situation  and  cir- 
-cumstances,  as  well  as  their  own,  are  to  be  considered  therein  ? 
Do  they  put  themselves  in  the  place  of  the  sufferer  whose  all 
is  already  gone,  and  of  the  soldier,  who  hath  quitted  all  for 
the  defence  of  his  country?  If  their  ill-judged  moderation 
be  suited  to  their  own  private  situations  oitly,  regardless  of 
others,  the  event  will  convince  them  that  "  they  are  reckon- 
ing without  their  host." 

Put  us,  say  some,  on  the  footing  we  were  in  the  year  1763  : 
To  which  I  answer,  the  request  is  not  now  in  the  power  of 
Britain  to  comply  with,  neither  will  she  propose  it ;  but  if  it 
were,  and  even  should  be  granted,  I  ask,  as  a  reasonable 
question,  By  what  means  is  such  a  corrupt  and  faithless  court 
to  be  kept  to  its  engagements?  Another  parliament,  nay, 
even  the  present,  may  hereafter  repeal  the  obligation,  on  the 
pretence  of  its  being  violently  obtained,  or  unwisely  granted  ; 
and,  in  that  case.  Where  is  our  redress?  No  going  to  law 
with  nations ;  cannon  are  the  barristers  of  crowns ;  and  the 
sword,  not  of  justice,  but  of  war,  decides  the  suit.  To  be  on 
the  footing  of  1763,  it  is  not  sufficient,  that  the  laws  only  be 
put  in  the  same  state,  but,  that  our  circumstances  likewise  be 
put  in  the  same  state ;  our  burnt  and  destroyed  towns  re- 


ii8 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


paired  or  built  up,  our  private  losses  made  good,  our  public 
debts  (contracted  for  defence)  discharged  ;  otherwise  we  shall 
be  millions  worse  than  we  were  at  that  enviable  period. 
Such  a  request,  had  it  been  complied  with  a  year  ago,  would 
have  won  the  heart  and  soul  of  the  Continent,  but  now  it  is 
too  late.    "  The  Rubicon  is  passed." 

Besides,  the  taking  up  arms,  merely  to  enforce  the  repeal 
of  a  pecuniary  law,  seems  as  unwarrantable  by  the  divine 
law,  and  as  repugnant  to  human  feelings,  as  the  taking  up 
arms  to  enforce  obedience  thereto.  The  object,  on  either 
side,  doth  not  justify  the  means  ;  for  the  lives  of  men  are  too 
valuable  to  be  cast  away  on  such  trifles.  It  is  the  violence 
which  is  done  and  threatened  to  our  persons ;  the  destruc- 
tion of  our  property  by  an  armed  force ;  the  invasion  of  our 
country  by  fire  and  sword,  which  conscientiously  qualifies 
the  use  of  arms :  and  the  instant  in  which  such  mode  of  de- 
fence became  necessary,  all  subjection  to  Britain  ought  to 
have  ceased  ;  and  the  independance  of  America  should  have 
been  considered  as  dating  its  era  from,  and  published  by, 
tJie  first  musket  that  was  fired  against  her.  This  line  is  a 
line  of  consistency  ;  neither  drawn  by  caprice,  nor  extended 
by  ambition  ;  but  produced  by  a  chain  of  events,  of  which 
the  colonies  were  not  the  authors. 

I  shall  conclude  these  remarks,  with  the  following  timely 
and  well-intended  hints.  We  ought  to  reflect,  that  there 
are  three  different  ways  by  which  an  independancy  may 
hereafter  be  effected  ;  and  that  one  of  those  three,  will,  one 
day  or  other,  be  the  fate  of  America,  viz.  By  the  legal  voice 
of  the  people  in  Congress  ;  by  a  military  power ;  or  by  a 
mob  :  It  may  not  always  happen  that  our  soldiers  are  citi- 
zens, and  the  multitude  a  body  of  reasonable  men  ;  virtue, 
as  I  have  already  remarked,  is  not  hereditary,  neither  is  it 
perpetual.  Should  an  independancy  be  brought  about  by 
the  first  of  those  means,  we  have  every  opportunity  and 
every  encouragement  before  us,  to  form  the  noblest,  purest 
constitution  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  We  have  it  in  our 
power  to  begin  the  world  over  again.  A  situation,  similar 
to  the  present,  hath  not  happened  since  the  days  of  Noah 


COMMON  SENSE. 


119 


until  now.  The  birthday  of  a  new  world  is  at  hand,  and  a 
race  of  men,  perhaps  as  numerous  as  all  Europe  contains, 
are  to  receive  their  portion  of  freedom  from  the  events  of  a 
few  months.  The  reflection  is  awful,  and  in  this  point  of 
view,  how  trifling,  how  ridiculous,  do  the  little  paltry  cavil- 
ings  of  a  few  weak  or  interested  men  appear,  when  weighed 
against  the  business  of  a  world. 

Should  we  neglect  the  present  favorable  and  inviting  pe- 
riod, and  independance  be  hereafter  effected  by  any  other 
means,  we  must  charge  the  consequence  to  ourselves,  or  to 
those  rather  whose  narrow  and  prejudiced  souls  are  habitu- 
ally opposing  the  measure,  without  either  inquiring  or 
reflecting.  There  are  reasons  to  be  given  in  support  of  inde- 
pendance which  men  should  rather  privately  think  of,  than 
be  publicly  told  of.  We  ought  not  now  to  be  debating 
whether  we  shall  be  independant  or  not,  but  anxious  to  ac- 
complish it  on  a  firm,  secure,  and  honorable  basis,  and  un- 
easy rather  that  it  is  not  yet  began  upon.  Every  day 
convinces  us  of  its  necessity.  Even  the  Tories  (if  such  be- 
ings yet  remain  among  us)  should,  of  all  men,  be  the  most 
solicitous  to  promote  it ;  for  as  the  appointment  of  com- 
mittees at  first  protected  them  from  popular  rage,  so,  a  wise 
and  well  established  form  of  government  will  be  the  only 
certain  means  of  continuing  it  securely  to  them.  Where- 
fore, if  they  have  not  virtue  enough  to  be  Whigs,  they 
ought  to  have  prudence  enough  to  wish  for  independance. 

In  short,  Independance  is  the  only  BOND  that  tye  and 
keep  us  together.  We  shall  then  see  our  object,  and  our 
ears  will  be  legally  shut  against  the  schemes  of  an  intriguing, 
as  well  as  cruel,  enemy.  We  shall  then,  too,  be  on  a  proper 
footing  to  treat  with  Britain  ;  for  there  is  reason  to  conclude, 
that  the  pride  of  that  court  will  be  less  hurt  by  treating 
with  the  American  states  for  terms  of  peace,  than  with 
those,  whom  she  denominates  "  rebellious  subjects,"  for 
terms  of  accommodation.  It  is  our  delaying  in  that,  en- 
courages her  to  hope  for  conquest,  and  our  backwardness 
tends  only  to  prolong  the  war.  As  we  have,  without  any 
good  effect  therefrom,  withheld  our  trade  to  obtain  a  redress 


120  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


of  our  grievances,  let  us  now  try  the  alternative,  by  inde- 
pendantly  redressing  them  ourselves,  and  then  offering  to 
open  the  trade.  The  mercantile  and  reasonable  part  of 
England,  will  be  still  with  us ;  because,  peace,  with  trade,  is 
preferable  to  war  without  it.  And  if  this  offer  be  not  ac- 
cepted, other  courts  may  be  applied  to. 

On  these  grounds  I  rest  the  matter.  And  as  no  offer 
hath  yet  been  made  to  refute  the  doctrine  contained  in  the 
former  editions  of  this  pamphlet,  it  is  a  negative  proof, 
that  either  the  doctrine  cannot  be  refuted,  or,  that  the  party 
in  favor  of  it  are  too  numerous  to  be  opposed.  WHERE- 
FORE, instead  of  gazing  at  each  other  with  suspicious  or 
doubtful  curiosity,  let  each  of  us  hold  out  to  his  neighbor 
the  hearty  hand  of  friendship,  and  unite  in  drawing  a  line, 
which,  like  an  act  of  oblivion,  shall  bury  in  forgetfulness 
every  former  dissention.  Let  the  names  of  Whig  and  Tory 
be  extinct ;  and  let  none  other  be  heard  among  us,  than 
those  of  a  good  citizen  ;  an  open  and  resolute  friend  ;  and  a 
virtuous  supporter  of  the  RIGHTS  of  mankind,  and  of  the 
FREE  AND  INDEPENDANT  STATES  OF  AMERICA. 


XVI. 


EPISTLE  TO  QUAKERS. 

To  the  Representatives  of  the  Religious  Society  of  the  People 
called  Quakers,  or  to  so  many  of  them  as  were  concerned 
in  publishing  a  late  piece,  entitled  "The  Ancient  Testi- 
mony and  Principles  of  the  people  called  Quakers 
renewed,  with  respect  to  the  King  and  Government, 
and  touching  the  COMMOTIONS  now  prevailing  in  these 
and  other  parts  of  America,  addressed  to  the  People  in 
General."  ' 

The  writer  of  this  is  one  of  those  few  who  never  dis- 
honors religion  either  by  ridiculing  or  cavilling  at  any  de- 
nomination whatsoever.  To  God,  and  not  to  man,  are  all 
men  accountable  on  the  score  of  religion.  Wherefore,  this 
epistle  is  not  so  properly  addressed  to  you  as  a  religious,  but 
as  a  political  body,  dabbling  in  matters  which  the  professed 
Quietude  of  your  Principles  instruct  you  not  to  meddle 
with. 

As  you  have,  without  a  proper  authority  for  so  doing,  put 
yourselves  in  the  place  of  the  whole  body  of  the  Quakers, 
so  the  writer  of  this,  in  order  to  be  in  an  equal  rank  with 
yourselves,  is  under  the  necessity  of  putting  himself  in  the 
place  of  all  those  who  approve  the  very  writings  and  princi- 
ples against  which  your  testimony  is  directed  :  And  he  hath 
chosen  this  singular  situation,  in  order  that  you  might  dis- 
cover in  him  that  presumption  of  character  which  you  can- 

'  The  "  Testimony  "  was  issued  by  a  general  meeting  of  Pennsylvania  and 
New  Jersey  Friends  held  in  Philadelphia,  January  20,  1776.  Paine's  "  Epistle" 
was  part  of  the  Appendix  to  the  third  edition  of  "  Common  Sense." — Editor. 


121 


122 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


not  see  in  yourselves.  For  neither  he  nor  you  have  any 
claim  or  title  to  Political  Representation. 

When  men  have  departed  from  the  right  way,  it  is  no 
wonder  that  they  stumble  and  fall.  And  it  is  evident  from 
the  manner  in  which  ye  have  managed  your  testimony,  that 
politics  (as  a  religious  body  of  men)  is  not  your  proper 
Walk  ;  for  however  well  adapted  it  might  appear  to  you,  it 
is,  nevertheless,  a  jumble  of  good  and  bad  unwisely  put  to- 
gether, and  the  conclusion  drawn  therefrom  both  unnatural 
and  unjust. 

The  first  two  pages  (and  the  whole  doth  make  but  four) 
we  give  you  credit  for,  and  expect  the  same  civility  from 
you,  because  the  love  and  desire  of  peace  is  not  confined  to 
Quakerism,  it  is  the  natural  as  well  as  the  religious  wish  of 
all  denominations  of  men.  And  on  this  ground,  as  men 
laboring  to  establish  an  Independant  Constitution  of  our 
own,  do  we  exceed  all  others  in  our  hope,  end,  and  aim. 
Our  plan  is  peace  for  ever.  We  are  tired  of  contention  with 
Britain,  and  can  see  no  real  end  to  it  but  in  a  final  separation. 
We  act  consistently,  because  for  the  sake  of  introducing  an 
endless  and  uninterrupted  peace,  do  we  bear  the  evils  and 
the  burthens  of  the  present  day.  We  are  endeavoring,  and 
will  steadily  continue  to  endeavor,  to  separate  and  dissolve 
a  connection  which  has  already  filled  our  land  with  blood  ; 
and  which,  while  the  name  of  it  remains,  will  be  the  fatal 
cause  of  future  mischiefs  to  both  countries. 

We  fight  neither  for  revenge  nor  conquest ;  neither  from 
pride  nor  passion  ;  we  are  not  insulting  the  world  with  our 
fleets  and  armies,  nor  ravaging  the  globe  for  plunder.  Be- 
neath the  shade  of  our  own  vines  are  we  attacked  ;  in  our 
own  houses,  and  on  our  own  lands,  is  the  violence  committed 
against  us.  We  view  our  enemies  in  the  characters  of  High- 
waymen and  Housebreakers,  and  having  no  defence  for  our- 
selves in  the  civil  law,  are  obliged  to  punish  them  by  the 
military  one,  and  apply  the  sword,  in  the  very  case  where 
you  have  before  now  applied  the  halter.  Perhaps  we  feel 
for  the  ruined  and  insulted  sufferers  in  all  and  every  part  of 
the  Continent,  with  a  degree  of  tenderness  which  hath  not 


1776] 


EPISTLE  TO  QUAKERS. 


123 


yet  made  its  way  into  some  of  your  bosoms.  But  be  ye  sure 
that  ye  mistake  not  the  cause  and  ground  of  your  Testi- 
mony. Call  not  coldness  of  soul,  religion  ;  nor  put  the  Bigot 
in  the  place  of  the  Christian. 

O  ye  partial  ministers  of  your  own  acknowledged  princi- 
ples. If  the  bearing  arms  be  sinful,  the  first  going  to  war 
must  be  more  so,  by  all  the  difference  between  wilful  attack 
and  unavoidable  defence.  Wherefore,  if  ye  really  preach 
from  conscience,  and  mean  not  to  make  a  political  hobby- 
horse of  your  religion,  convince  the  world  thereof,  by  pro- 
claiming your  doctrine  to  our  enemies, they  likewise  bear 
ARMS.  Give  us  proof  of  your  sincerity,  by  publishing  it  at 
St.  James's,  to  the  commanders  in  chief  at  Boston,  to  the 
admirals  and  captains  who  are  piratically  ravaging  our 
coasts,  and  to  all  the  murdering  miscreants  who  are  acting 
in  authority  under  him  whom  ye  profess  to  serve.  Had  ye 
the  honest  soul  of  Barclay  *  ye  would  preach  repentance  to 
your  king  :  ye  would  tell  the  Royal  Wretch  his  sins,  and 
warn  him  of  eternal  ruin.  Ye  would  not  spend  your  partial 
invectives  against  the  injured  and  insulted  only,  but,  like 
faithful  ministers,  would  cry  aloud  and  spare  none.  Say  not 
that  ye  are  persecuted,  neither  endeavor  to  make  us  the 
authors  of  that  reproach  which  ye  are  bringing  upon  your- 
selves ;  for  we  testify  unto  all  men,  that  we  do  not  complain 
against  you  because  ye  are  Quakers,  but  because  ye  pretend 
to  be  and  are  not  Quakers. 

Alas !  it  seems  by  the  particular  tendency  of  some  part  of 
your  testimony,  and  other  parts  of  your  conduct,  as  if  all  sin 

*  "  Thou  hast  tasted  of  prosperity  and  adversity  ;  thou  knowest  what  it  is  to 
be  banished  thy  native  country,  to  be  over-ruled  as  well  as  to  rule,  and  sit  upon 
the  throne  :  and  being  oppressed  thou  hast  reason  to  know  how  hateful  the 
oppressor  is  both  to  God  and  man  ;  If  after  all  these  warnings  and  advertise- 
ments, thou  dost  not  turn  unto  the  Lord  with  all  thy  heart,  but  forget  him  who 
remembered  thee  in  thy  distress,  and  give  up  thyself  to  follow  lust  and  vanity, 
surely,  great  will  be  thy  condemnation. — Against  which  snare,  as  well  as  the 
temptation  of  those  who  may  or  do  feed  thee,  and  prompt  thee  to  evil,  the  most 
excellent  and  prevalent  remedy  will  be,  to  apply  thyself  to  that  light  of  Christ 
which  shineth  in  thy  conscience,  and  which  neither  can  nor  will  flatter  thee,  nor 
suffer  thee  to  be  at  ease  in  thy  sins." — Barclay  s  Address  to  Charles  II. 


124  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


was  reduced  to,  and  comprehended  in,  the  act  of  bearing  arms, 
and  that  by  the  people  only.  Ye  appear  to  us  to  have  mis- 
taken party  for  conscience  ;  because  the  general  tenor  of 
your  actions  wants  uniformity  :  And  it  is  exceedingly  diffi- 
cult for  us  to  give  credit  to  many  of  your  pretended  scruples  ; 
because  we  see  them  made  by  the  same  men,  who,  in  the 
very  instant  that  they  are  exclaiming  against  the  mammon 
of  this  world,  are  nevertheless  hunting  after  it  with  a  step  as 
steady  as  Time,  and  an  appetite  as  keen  as  Death. 

The  quotation  which  ye  have  made  from  Proverbs,  in  the 
third  page  of  your  testimony,  that  *'  when  a  man's  ways 
please  the  Lord,  he  maketh  even  his  enemies  to  be  at  peace 
with  him  ; "  is  very  unwisely  chosen  on  your  part  ;  because 
it  amounts  to  a  proof  that  the  king's  ways  (whom  ye  are  so 
•desirous  of  supporting)  do  not  please  the  Lord,  otherwise  his 
reign  would  be  in  peace. 

I  now  proceed  to  the  latter  part  of  your  testimony,  and  that 
for  which  all  the  foregoing  seems  only  an  introduction,  viz. 

"  It  hath  ever  been  our  judgment  and  principle,  since  we  were 
•called  to  profess  the  light  of  Christ  Jesus,  manifested  in  our  con- 
sciences unto  this  day,  that  the  setting  up  and  putting  down  kings 
and  governments,  is  God's  peculiar  prerogative  ;  for  causes  best 
known  to  himself  :  And  that  it  is  not  our  business  to  have  any- 
hand  or  contrivance  therein  ;  nor  to  be  busy  bodies  above  our 
station,  much  less  to  plot  and  contrive  the  ruin,  or  overturn  of 
any  of  them,  but  to  pray  for  the  king,  and  safety  of  our  nation, 
and  good  of  all  men  :  That  we  may  live  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life, 
in  all  godliness  and  honesty ;  under  the  government  which  God  is 
pleased  to  set  over  us." 

If  these  are  really  your  principles  why  do  ye  not  abide 
by  them  ?  Why  do  ye  not  leave  that,  which  ye  call  God's 
work,  to  be  managed  by  himself?  These  very  principles 
instruct  you  to  wait  with  patience  and  humility,  for  the 
event  of  all  public  measures,  and  to  receive  that  event  as 
the  divine  will  towards  you.  Wherefore,  what  occasion  is 
there  for  your  political  testimony,  if  you  fully  believe  what 
it  contains?    And  the  very  publishing  it  proves  that  either 


EPISTLE   TO  QUAKERS. 


125 


ye  do  not  believe  what  ye  profess,  or  have  not  virtue 
enough  to  practice  what  ye  believe. 

The  principles  of  Quakerism  have  a  direct  tendency  to 
make  a  man  the  quiet  and  inoffensive  subject  of  any,  and 
every  government  which  is  set  over  him.  And  if  the  setting 
up  and  putting  down  of  kings  and  governments  is  God's 
peculiar  prerogative,  he  most  certainly  will  not  be  robbed 
thereof  by  us ;  wherefore,  the  principle  itself  leads  you  to 
approve  of  every  thing  which  ever  happened,  or  may  happen 
to  kings,  as  being  his  work.  Oliver  Cromwell  thanks  you. 
Charles,  then,  died  not  by  the  hands  of  man  ;  and  should 
the  present  proud  Imitator  of  him  come  to  the  same  un- 
timely end,  the  writers  and  publishers  of  the  testimony  are 
bound,  by  the  doctrine  it  contains,  to  applaud  the  fact. 
Kings  are  not  taken  away  by  miracles,  neither  are  changes 
in  governments  brought  about  by  any  other  means  than 
such  as  are  common  and  human ;  and  such  as  we  now  are 
using.  Even  the  dispersing  of  the  Jews,  though  foretold  by 
our  Saviour,  was  effected  by  arms.  Wherefore,  as  ye  refuse 
to  be  the  means  on  one  side,  ye  ought  not  to  be  medlers  on 
the  other ;  but  to  wait  the  issue  in  silence  ;  and,  unless  you 
can  produce  divine  authority  to  prove  that  the  Almighty, 
who  hath  created  and  placed  this  new  world  at  the  greatest 
distance  it  could  possibly  stand,  east  and  west,  from  every 
part  of  the  old,  doth,  nevertheless,  disapprcfve  of  its  being 
independant  of  the  corrupt  and  abandoned  court  of  Britain  ; 
unless,  I  say,  ye  can  show  this,  how  can  ye,  on  the  ground 
of  your  principles,  justify  the  exciting  and  stirring  up  the 
people  "  firmly  to  unite  in  the  abhorrence  of  all  such  writings, 
and  measures,  as  evidence  a  desire  and  design  to  break  off  the 
happy  connection  we  have  hitherto  enjoyed  with  the  kingdom 
of  Great  Britain,  and  our  just  and  necessary  subordination 
to  the  king,  and  those  who  are  lawfully  placed  in  authority 
under  him."  What  a  slap  in  the  face  is  here !  The  men, 
who,  in  the  very  paragraph  before,  have  quietly  and  pas- 
sively resigned  up  the  ordering,  altering  and  disposal  of 
kings  and  governments,  into  the  hands  of  God,  are  now 
recalling  their  principles,  and  putting  in  for  a  share  of  the 


126  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


business.  Is  it  possible,  that  the  conclusion,  which  is  here 
justly  quoted,  can  any  ways  follow  from  the  doctrine  laid 
down  !  The  inconsistency  is  too  glaring  not  to  be  seen  ;  the 
absurdity  too  great  not  to  be  laughed  at ;  and  such  as  could 
only  have  been  made  by  those  whose  understandings  were 
darkened  by  the  narrow  and  crabbed  spirit  of  a  despairing 
political  party  ;  for  ye  are  not  to  be  considered  as  the  whole 
body  of  the  Quakers,  but  only  as  a  factional  and  fractional 
part  thereof. 

Here  ends  the  examination  of  your  Testimony ;  (which  I 
call  upon  no  man  to  abhor,  as  ye  have  done,  but  only  to 
read  and  judge  of  fairly ;)  to  which  I  subjoin  the  following 
remark  "  That  the  setting  up  and  putting  down  of  kings  " 
must  certainly  mean,  the  making  him  a  king  who  is  yet  not 
so,  and  the  making  him  no  king  who  is  already  one.  And 
pray  what  hath  this  to  do  in  the  present  case  ?  We  neither 
mean  to  set  up  nor  to  pull  down,  neither  to  make  nor  to 
unmake,  but  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  them.  Wherefore, 
your  testimony,  in  whatever  light  it  is  viewed,  serves  only  to 
dishonor  your  judgment,  and  for  many  other  reasons  had 
better  have  been  let  alone  than  published. 

First,  Because  it  tends  to  the  decrease  and  reproach  of  all 
religion  whatever,  and  is  of  the  utmost  danger  to  society,  to 
make  it  a  party  in  political  disputes. 

Secondly,  Because  it  exhibits  a  body  of  men,  numbers  of 
whom  disavow  the  publishing  of  political  testimonies,  as 
being  concerned  therein  and  approvers  thereof. 

Thirdly,  Because  it  hath  a  tendency  to  undo  that  con- 
tinental harmony  and  friendship  which  yourselves,  by  your 
late  liberal  and  charitable  donations,  hath  lent  a  hand  to 
establish ;  and  the  preservation  of  which  is  of  the  utmost 
consequence  to  us  all. 

And  here,  without  anger  or  resentment,  I  bid  you  fare- 
well. Sincerely  wishing,  that  as  men  and  christians,  ye  may 
always  fully  and  uninterruptedly  enjoy  every  civil  and 
religious  right,  and  be,  in  your  turn,  the  means  of  securing 
it  to  others ;  but  that  the  example  which  ye  have  unwisely 
set,  of  mingling  religion  with  politics,  may  be  disavowed  and 
reprobated  by  every  inhabitant  ij/"  AMERICA. 


XVII. 


THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS.' 
I. 

TO  CATO. 

To  be  nobly  wrong  is  more  manly  than  to  be  meanly  right. 
Only  let  the  error  be  disinterested — let  it  wear  not  the  mask, 
but  the  mark  of  principle,  and  'tis  pardonable.  It  is  on  this 
large  and  liberal  ground,  that  we  distinguish  between  men 
and  their  tenets,  and  generously  preserv-e  our  friendship  for 
the  one,  while  we  combat  with  every  prejudice  of  the  other. 
But  let  not  Cato  take  this  compliment  to  himself;  he  stands 
excluded  from  the  benefit  of  the  distinction  ;  he  deserves  it 
not.  And  if  the  sincerity  of  disdain  can  add  a  cubit  to  the 
stature  of  my  sentiments,  it  shall  not  be  wanting. 

'  "The  writer  of  '  Common  Sense'  and  '  The  Forester'  is  the  same  person," 
wrote  John  Adams  to  his  wife.  "  His  name  is  Paine,  a  gentleman  about  two  years 
from  England, — a  man  who,  Gen.  Lee  says,  has  genius  in  his  eyes."  The  let- 
ters signed  "  The  Forester"  are  four,  and  originally  appeared  in  the  Pennsyl- 
vania yournal,  the  dates  of  issue  being  April  3,  10,  24,  May  8,  1776.  The 
April  letters  were  replies  to  "  Cato,"  who  was  writing  a  series  of  letters,  in  the 
Pennsylvania  Gazette,  vigorously  combating  the  republican  doctrines  of  Paine's 
"Common  Sense,"  and  its  pleas  for  Independence.  "  Cato"  was  the  Rev.  Dr. 
William  Smith,  a  Scotch  clergyman  of  the  English  Church,  Provost  of  the  Col- 
lege of  Philadelphia,  and  the  most  influential  preacher  in  that  city  until  his  fall 
with  the  royalist  cause  which  he  had  espoused.  The  letters  of  these  disputants 
were  widely  copied  in  the  country,  and  the  controversy  was  the  most  exciting 
and  important  immediately  preceding  the  Declaration  of  Independence.  The 
proposal  of  such  a  Declaration  was  really  the  issue.  It  was  vehemently  opposed 
by  the  wealth  and  aristocracy  of  Philadelphia,  headed  by  Dr.  Smith,  and  the 
discussion  was  almost  a  battle.  This  may  explain  its  acrimony,  on  which  neither 
writer,  probably,  reflected  with  satisfaction  in  after  years.  The  "  Cato"  letters 
are  not  included  in  the  collected  Works  of  Dr.  Smith  (Philadelphia,  1803),  nor 
have  the  letters  of  "  The  Forester  "  appeared  hitherto  in  any  edition  of  Paine's 
Writings.  They  are,  however,  of  much  historical  interest.  The  fourth  letter  of 
■"  The  Forester,"  it  will  be  seen,  has  no  reference  to  Cato. — Editor. 

127 


128 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


It  is  indifferent  to  me  who  the  writer  of  Cato's  letters  is, 
and  sufificient  for  me  to  know,  that  they  are  gorged  with 
absurdity,  confusion,  contradiction,  and  the  most  notorious 
and  wilful  falsehoods.  Let  Cato  and  his  faction  be  against 
Independence  and  welcome  ;  their  consequence  will  not  now 
turn  the  scale  :  But  let  them  have  regard  to  justice,  and  pay 
some  attention  to  the  plain  doctrine  of  reason.  Where  these 
are  wanting,  the  sacred  cause  of  truth  applauds  our  anger, 
and  dignifies  it  with  the  name  of  Virtue. 

Four  letters  have  already  appeared  under  the  specious 
name  of  Cato.  What  pretensions  the  writer  of  them  can 
have  to  the  signature,  the  public  will  best  determine ;  while, 
on  my  own  part,  I  prophetically  content  myself  with  con- 
templating the  similarity  of  their  exits.  The  first  of  those 
letters  promised  a  second,  the  second  a  third,  the  third  a 
fourth  ;  the  fourth  hath  since  made  its  appearance,  and  still 
the  writer  keeps  wide  of  the  question.  Why  doth  he  thus 
loiter  in  the  suburbs  of  the  dispute?  Why  hath  he  not 
shewn  us  what  the  numerous  blessings  of  reconciliation  [with 
Great  Britain]  are,  and  proved  tliem  practicable?  But  he 
cunningly  avoids  the  point.  He  cannot  but  discover  the 
rock  he  is  driving  on.  The  fate  of  the  Roman  Cato  is  before 
his  eyes  :  And  that  the  public  may  be  prepared  for  his  funeral, 
and  for  his  funeral  oration,  I  will  venture  to  predict  the  time 
and  the  manner  of  his  exit.  The  moment  he  explains  his  terms 
of  reconciliation  the  typographical  Cato  dies.  If  they  be  cal- 
culated to  please  the  [British]  Cabinet  they  will  not  go  down 
with  the  Colonies:  and  if  they  be  suited  to  the  Colonies  they 
will  be  rejected  by  the  Cabinet :  The  line  of  no-variation  is 
yet  unfound  ;  and,  like  the  philosopher's  stone,  doth  not 
exist.  "  I  am  bold,"  says  Cato,  "  to  declare  and  yet  hope  to 
make  it  evident  to  every  honest  man,  that  the  true  interest  of 
America  lies  in  reconciliation  with  Great  Britain  on  constitu- 
tional principles  y 

This  is  a  curious  way  of  lumping  the  business  indeed ! 
And  Cato  may  as  well  attempt  to  catch  lions  in  a  mouse- 
trap as  to  hope  to  allure  the  public  with  such  general  and 
unexplained  expressions.    It  is  now  a  mere  bugbear  to  talk 


129 


of  reconciliation  on  constitutional  principles  unless  the  terms 
of  the  first  be  produced  and  the  sense  of  the  other  be  de- 
fined; and  unless  he  does  this  he  does  nothing. 

To  follow  Cato  through  every  absurdity  and  falsehood  in 
the  compass  of  a  *  letter  is  impossible  ;  neither  is  it  now 
necessary.  Cassandra  (and  I  thank  him)  hath  saved  me 
much  trouble  ;  there  is  a  spirit  in  his  remarks  which  honesty 
only  can  inspire,  and  a  uniformity  in  the  conduct  of  his 
letters  which  the  want  of  principle  can  never  arrive  at.' 
Mark  that,  Cato. 

One  observation  which  I  cannot  help  making  on  Cato's 
letters,  is  that  they  are  addressed  "  To  the  People  of  Pennsyl- 
vajiia  "  only :  In  almost  any  other  writer  this  might  have 
passed  unnoticed,  but  we  know  it  hath  mischief  in  its  mean- 
ing. The  particular  circumstance  of  a  convention  is  un- 
doubtedly Provincial,  but  the  great  business  of  the  day  is 
Continental.  And  he  who  dares  to  endeavour  to  withdraw 
this  province  from  the  glorious  union  by  which  all  are  sup- 
ported, deserves  the  reprobation  of  all  men.  It  is  the  true 
interest  of  the  whole  to  go  hand  in  hand  ;  and  dismal  in 
every  instance  would  be  the  fate  of  that  Colony  which  should 
retreat  from  the  protection  of  the  rest. 

The  first  of  Cato's  letters  is  insipid  in  its  stile,  language 
and  substance ;  crowded  with  personal  and  private  innuen- 
dues  and  directly  levelled  against  "  the  Majesty  of  the  People 
of  Pennsylvania.''  The  Committee  could  only  call,  propose, 
or  recommend  a  Convention  ; '  but,  like  all  other  public 
measures,  it  still  rested  with  the  people  at  large,  whether 
they  would  approve  it  or  not ;  and  Cato's  reasoning  on  the 
right  or  wrong  of  that  choice  is  contemptible ;  because,  if 

*  The  writer  intended  at  first  to  have  contained  his  remarks  in  one  letter. — 
Author. 

'  The  letter  "  On  sending  Commissioners  to  treat  with  the  Congress,"  signed 
' '  Cassandra,"  was  particularly  dealt  with  by  '  'Cato"  in  his  second  letter. — Editor. 

^  This  committee  was  appointed  by  the  Assembly  of  Pennsylvania  in  pur- 
suance of  a  recommendation,  by  the  Continental  Congress,  that  the  Colonies 
should  impose  on  their  officers,  civil  and  military,  a  new  patriotic  oath.  The 
course  of  events  led  the  Committee  to  summon  a  Provincial  Convention  by 
which  Pennsylvania  was  entirely  reorganized. — Editor. 

VOL.  I. — 9 


I30 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


the  body  of  the  people  had  thought,  or  should  still  think 
that  the  Assembly  (or  any  of  their  Delegates  in  Congress) 
by  setting  under  the  embarrassment  of  oaths,  and  entangled 
with  government  and  Governors,  are  not  so  perfectly  free  as 
they  ought  to  be,  they  undoubtedly  had  and  still  have  both 
the  right  and  the  power  to  place  even  the  whole  authority  of 
the  Assembly  in  any  body  of  men  they  please  ;  and  whoever 
is  hardy  enough  to  say  to  the  contrary  is  an  enemy  to  man- 
kind. The  constitution  of  Pennsylvania  hath  been  twice 
changed  through  the  cunning  of  former  Proprietors;  surely, 
the  people,  whose  right,  power,  and  property  is  greater  than 
that  of  any  single  man,  may  make  such  alterations  in  their 
mode  of  government  as  the  change  of  times  and  things 
require.  Cato  is  exceedingly  fond  of  impressing  us  with  the 
importance  of  our  "  chartered  constitution,"  Alas  !  We  are 
not  now.  Sir,  to  be  led  away  by  the  jingle  of  a  phrase.  Had 
we  framed  our  conduct  by  the  contents  of  the  present  char- 
ters, we  had  ere  now  been  in  a  state  of  helpless  misery. 
That  very  assembly  you  mention  hath  broken  it,  and  been 
obliged  to  break  it,  in  almost  every  instance  of  their  pro- 
ceedings. Hold  it  up  to  the  Public,  and  it  is  transparent 
with  holes ;  pierced  with  as  many  deadly  wounds  as  the 
body  of  M'Leod.'  Disturb  not  its  remains,  Cato,  nor  dis- 
honour it  with  another  funeral  oration. 

There  is  nothing  in  Cato's  first  letter  worthy  of  notice 
but  the  following  insinuating  falsehood  :  "  Grievous  as  the 
least  restraint  of  the  press  must  always  be  to  a  people  enti- 
tled to  freedom,  it  must  be  the  more  so,  when  it  is  not  only 
unwarranted  hy  those  to  whom  have  committed  the  care 
of  their  liberties  but  cannot  be  warranted  by  them,  consistent 
with  liberty  itself."  The  rude  and  unscholastical  confusion 
of  persons  in  the  above  paragraph,  though  it  throws  an 
obscurity  on  the  meaning,  still  leaves  it  discoverable.  Who, 
Sir,  hath  laid  any  restraint  on  the  liberty  of  the  press  ?  I 
know  of  no  instance  in  which  the  press  hath  ever  been  the 

■  News  had  reached  Philadelphia  of  the  battle  of  Moore's  Creek  Bridge,  North 
Carolina,  in  which  the  "  Tory"  forces  were  defeated,  and  their  temporary  com- 
mander, M'Leod,  fell  "pierced  with  twenty  balls." — Editor, 


THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS. 


object  of  notice  in  this  province,  except  on  account  of  the 
tory  letter  from  Kent  county,  which  was  first  published  last 
spring  in  the.  Pcniisylvafiia  Ledger,  a.nd  which  it  was  the  duty 
of  every  good  man  to  detect  because  the  honesty  of  the  press 
is  as  great  an  object  to  society  as  the  freedom  of  it.  If  this 
is  the  restraint  you  complain  of,  we  know  your  true  char- 
acter at  once ;  and  that  it  is  so,  appears  evident  from  the 
expression  which  immediately  follows  the  above  quotation  : 
your  words  are,  "  Nevertheless,  we  readily  submitted  to 
it  while  the  least  colourable  pretence  could  be  offered  for 
requiring  such  a  submission."  Who  submitted,  Cato  ?  we 
Whigs,  or  we  Tories  ?  Until  you  clear  up  this.  Sir,  you  must 
content  yourself  with  being  ranked  among  the  rankest  of  the 
writing  Tories ;  because  no  other  body  of  men  can  have  any 
pretence  to  complain  of  want  of  freedom  of  the  press.  It  is 
not  your  throwing  out,  now  and  then,  little  popular  phrases 
which  can  protect  you  from  suspicion  ;  they  are  only  the 
gildings  under  which  the  poison  is  conveyed,  and  without 
which  you  dared  not  to  renew  your  attempts  on  the  virtue 
of  the  people. 

Cato's  second  letter,  or  the  greatest  part  thereof,  is  taken 
up  with  the  reverence  due  from  us  to  the  persons  and  author- 
ity of  the  Commissioners,  whom  Cato  vainly  and  ridiculously 
stiles  Ambassadors  coming  to  jtegociate  a  peace.  How  came 
Cato  not  to  be  let  a  little  better  into  the  secret  ?  The  act  of 
parliament  which  describes  the  powers  of  these  men  hath 
been  in  this  city  upwards  of  a  month,  and  in  the  hands  too 
of  Cato's  friends.  No,  Sir,  they  are  not  the  Ambassadors  of 
peace,  but  the  distributors  of  pardons,  mischief,  and  insult. 
Cato  discovers  a  gross  ignorance  of  the  British  constitution 
in  supposing  that  these  men  can  be  empowered  to  act  as 
Ambassadors.  To  prevent  his  future  errors  I  will  set  him 
right.  The  present  war  differs  from  every  other,  in  this 
instance,  viz.  that  it  is  not  carried  under  the  prerogative  of 
the  crown  as  other  wars  have  always  been,  but  under  the 
authority  of  the  whole  legislative  power  united  ;  and  as  the 
barriers  which  stand  in  the  way  of  a  negociation  are  not 
proclamations  but  acts  of  parliament,  it  evidently  follows, 


132 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


that  were  even  the  King  of  England  here  in  person,  he  could 
not  ratify  the  terms  or  conditions  of  a  reconciliation ;  be- 
cause, in  the  single  character  of  King  he  could  not  stipulate 
for  the  repeal  of  any  acts  of  parliament,  neither  can  the  Par- 
liament stipulate  for  him.  There  is  no  body  of  men  more 
jealous  of  their  privileges  than  the  Commons :  Because  they 
sell  them.    Mark  that,  Cato. 

I  have  not  the  least  doubt  upon  me  but  that  their  busi- 
ness (exclusive  of  granting  us  pardons)  is  downright  bribery 
and  corruption.  It  is  the  machine  by  which  they  effect  all 
their  plans.  We  ought  to  view  them  as  enemies  of  a  most 
dangerous  species,  and  he  who  means  not  to  be  corrupted 
by  them  will  enter  his  protest  in  time.  Are  they  not  the 
very  men  who  are  paid  for  voting  in  every  measure  against 
us,  and  ought  we  not  to  suspect  their  designs?  Can  we 
view  the  barbarians  as  friends  ?  Would  it  be  prudent  to 
trust  the  viper  in  our  very  bosoms?  Or  to  suffer  them  to 
ramble  at  large  among  us  while  such  doubtful  characters  as 
Cato  have  a  being  upon  the  continent  ?  Yet  let  their  per- 
sons be  safe  from  injury  and  outrage — but  trust  them  not. 
Our  business  with  them  is  short  and  explicit,  viz. :  We  are 
desirous  of  peace,  gentlemen ;  we  are  ready  to  ratify  the 
terms,  and  will  virtuously  fulfil  the  conditions  thereof;  but 
we  should  deserve  all  and  every  misery  which  tyranny  can 
inflict,  were  we,  after  suffering  such  a  repetition  of  savage 
barbarities,  to  come  under  your  government  again. 

Cato,  by  way  of  stealing  into  credit,  says,  "  that  the  con- 
test we  are  engaged  in  is  founded  on  the  most  noble  and 
virtuous  principles  which  can  animate  the  mind  of  man.  We 
are  contending  (says  he)  against  an  arbitrary  ministry  for  the 
rights  of  Englishmen."  No,  Cato,  we  are  nozv  contending 
against  an  arbitrary  King  to  get  clear  of  his  tyranny.  While 
the  dispute  rested  in  words  only,  it  might  be  called  "  con- 
tending with  the  ministry,"  but  since  it  is  broken  out  into 
open  war,  it  is  high  time  to  have  done  with  such  silly  and 
water-gruel  definitions.  But  it  suits  not  Cato  to  speak  the 
truth.  It  is  his  interest  to  dress  up  the  sceptred  savage  in 
the  mildest  colors.  Cato's  patent  for  a  large  tract  of  land  is 
yet  unsigned.    Alas  poor  Cato  ! 


1776] 


THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS. 


Cato  proceeds  very  importantly  to  tell  us,  "  tJiat  the  eyes 
of  all  Europe  are  upon  us."  This  stale  and  hackneyed  phrase 
hath  had  a  regular  descent,  from  many  of  the  King's  speeches 
down  to  several  of  the  speeches  in  Parliament ;  from  thence 
it  took  a  turn  among  the  little  wits  and  bucks  of  St.  James's  ; 
till  after  suffering  all  the  torture  of  senseless  repetition,  and 
being  reduced  to  a  state  of  vagrancy,  it  was  charitably 
picked  up  to  embellish  the  second  letter  of  Cato.  It  is 
truly  of  the  bug-bear  kind,  contains  no  meaning,  and  the  very 
using  it  discovers  a  barrenness  of  invention.  It  signifies 
nothing  to  tell  us  "  that  the  eyes  of  all  Europe  are  upon  us," 
unless  he  had  likewise  told  us  what  they  are  looking  at  us 
for  :  which  as  he  hath  not  done,  I  will.  They  are  looking  at 
us,  Cato,  in  hopes  of  seeing  a  final  separation  between 
Britain  and  the  Colonies,  that  they,  the  lookers-on,  may  par- 
take of  a  free  and  uninterrupted  trade  with  the  whole  Con- 
tinent of  America.    Cato,  thou  reasonest  wrong. 

For  the  present.  Sir,  farewell.  I  have  seen  thy  soliloquy 
and  despise  it.  Remember  thou  hast  thrown  me  the  glove, 
Cato,  and  either  thee  or  I  must  tire.  I  fear  not  the  field  of 
fair  debate,  but  thou  hast  stepped  aside  and  made  it  personal. 
Thou  hast  tauntingly  called  on  me  by  name  ;  and  if  I  cease 
to  hunt  thee  from  every  lane  and  lurking  hole  of  mischief, 
and  bring  thee  not  a  trembling  culprit  before  the  public  bar, 
then  brand  me  with  reproach,  by  naming  me  in  the  list  of 
your  confederates. 

The  Forester. 

Philadelphia,  March  28,  1776. 


II. 

TO  CATO. 

Before  I  enter  on  the  more  immediate  purpose  of  this 
letter,  I  think  it  necessary,  once  for  all,  to  endeavour  to  settle 
as  clearly  as  I  can,  the  following  point,  viz  :  How  far  per- 
sonality is  concerned  in  any  political  debate.  The  general 
maxim  is,  that  measures  and  not  men  are  the  thing  in  ques- 
tion, and  the  maxim  is  undeniably  just  when  rightly  under- 


134  THE   WAITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


stood.  Cato  as  a  refuge  for  himself,  hath  quoted  the  author 
of  Common  Sense  who  in  his  preface  says,  "That  the  object 
for  attention  is  the  doctrine  itself  not  the  man,"  that  is,  not 
the  rank  or  condition  of  the  man.  For  whether  he  is  with 
those  whose  fortune  is  already  made,  or  with  those  whose 
fortune  is  yet  to  make,  or  among  those  who  seldom  think  or 
care  whether  they  make  any,  is  a  matter  wholly  out  of  the 
question  and  entirely  confined  to  himself.  But  the  political 
characters,  political  dependencies,  and  political  connections 
of  men,  being  of  a  public  nature,  differ  exceedingly  from  the 
circumstances  of  private  life  ;  and  are  in  many  instances  so 
nearly  related  to  the  measures  they  propose,  that  to  prevent 
our  being  deceived  by  the  last,  we  mtcst  be  acquainted  with 
the  first.  A  total  ignorance  of  men  lays  us  under  the  danger 
of  mistaking  plausibility  for  principle.  Could  the  wolf  bleat 
like  the  lamb  the  flock  would  soon  be  enticed  into  ruin ; 
wherefore  to  prevent  the  mischief,  he  ought  to  be  seett  as 
well  as  heard.  There  never  was  nor  ever  will  be,  nor  ever 
ought  to  be,  any  important  political  debate  carried  on,  in 
which  a  total  separation  in  all  cases  between  men  and  meas- 
ures could  be  admitted  with  sufficient  safety.  When  hypoc- 
risy shall  be  banished  from  the  earth,  the  knowledge  of  men 
will  be  unnecessary,  because  their  measures  cannot  then  be 
fraudulent ;  but  until  that  time  come  (which  never  will 
come)  they  ought,  under  proper  limitations,  to  go  together. 
We  have  already  too  much  secrecy  in  some  things  and  too 
little  in  others.  Were  men  more  known,  and  measures 
more  concealed,  we  should  have  fewer  hypocrites  and  more 
security. 

As  the  chief  design  of  these  letters  is  to  detect  and  expose 
the  falsehoods  and  fallacious  reasonings  of  Cato,  he  must  not 
expect  (when  detected)  to  be  treated  like  one  who  had  de- 
bated fairly  ;  for  I  will  be  bold  to  say  and  to  prove,  that  a 
grosser  violation  of  truth  and  reason  scarcely  ever  came  from 
the  pen  of  a  writer ;  and  the  explanations  which  he  hath 
endeavoured  to  impose  on  the  passages  which  he  hath 
quoted  from  Common  Sense,  are  such  as  never  existed  in  the 
mind  of  the  author,  nor  can  they  be  drawn  from  the  words 


135 


themselves.  Neither  must  Cato  expect  to  be  spared  where 
his  carelessness  of  expression,  and  visible  want  of  compassion 
and  sentiment,  shall  give  occasion  to  raise  any  moral  or  phil- 
osophical reflection  thereon.  These  things  being  premised, 
I  now  proceed  to  review  the  latter  part  of  Cato's  second 
letter. 

In  this  place  Cato  begins  his  first  attack  on  Common 
Sense,  but  as  he  only  discovers  his  ill  will,  and  neither  offers 
any  arguments  against  it,  nor  makes  any  quotations  from  it, 
I  should  in  this  place  pass  him  by,  were  it  not  for  the  follow- 
ing strange  assertion :  "  If  little  notice,"  says  Cato  {little 
opposition  he  means)  "  has  yet  been  taken  of  the  publications 
concerning  Independance,  it  is  neither  owing  to  the  popu- 
larity of  the  doctrine,  the  unanswerable  nature  of  the  argu- 
ments, nor  the  fear  of  opposing  them,  as  the  vanity  of  the 
author  would  suggest."  As  Cato  has  given  us  the  negative 
reasons,  he  ought  to  have  given  us  the  real  ones,  for  as  he 
positively  tells  what  it  was  not  owing  to,  he  undoubtedly 
knows  what  it  was  owing  to  that  he  delayed  his  answers  so 
long ;  but  instead  of  telling  us  that,  (which  perhaps  is  not 
proper  to  be  told)  he  flies  from  the  argument  with  the  fol- 
lowing plump  declarations,  "  Nine  tenths  of  the  people  of 
Pennsylvania,"  says  he,  "  yet  abhor  the  doctrine."  But  sto|3, 
Cato!  not  quite  so  fast,  friend  !  If  this  be  true,  how  came 
they,  so  late  as  the  second  of  March  last,  to  elect  for  a  Bur- 
gess of  this  city,  a  gentleman  of  known  Independant  Principles, 
and  one  of  the  very  few  to  whom  the  author  of  Common 
Sense  shewed  some  part  thereof  while  in  manuscript.' 

Cato  is  just  as  unfortunate  in  the  following  paragraph. 
"  Those,"  says  he,  "  who  made  the  appeal  (that  is,  published 
the  pamphlet)  have  but  little  cause  to  triumph  in  its  success. 
Of  this  they  seem  sensible  :  and,  like  true  quacks,  are  con- 
stantly pestering  us  with  additional  doses  till  the  stomachs 
of  their  patients  begin  tvholly  to  revolt."  It  is  Cato's  hard 
fate  to  be  always  detected :  for  perhaps  there  never  was  a 
pamphlet,  since  the  use  of  letters  were  known,  about  which 

'  David  Rittenhouse,  elected  in  the  place  of  Franklin,  who  had  left  for 
France. — Editor. 


136  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


SO  little  pains  were  taken,  and  of  which  so  great  a  number 
went  off  in  so  short  a  time  ;  I  am  certain  that  I  am  within 
compass  when  I  say  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand. 
The  book  was  turned  upon  the  world  like  an  orphan  to  shift 
for  itself ;  no  plan  was  formed  to  support  it,  neither  hath 
the  author  ever  published  a  syllable  on  the  subject,  from  that 
time  till  after  the  appearance  of  Cato's  fourth  letter  ;  where- 
fore what  Cato  says  of  additional  doses  administered  by 
the  author  is  an  absolute  falsity ;  besides  which,  it  comes 
with  an  ill  grace  from  one,  who  frequently  publishes  two 
letters  in  a  week,  and  often  puts  them  both  into  one  paper — 
Cato  here,  Cato  there,  look  where  you  will. 

At  the  distance  of  a  few  lines  from  the  above  quotations, 
Cato  presents  us  with  a  retrospective  view  of  our  former 
state,  in  which,  says  he,  "  we  considered  our  connection  with 
Great  Britain  as  our  chief  happiness — we  flourished,  grew 
rich,  and  populous  to  a  degree  not  to  be  paralleled  in  his- 
tory." This  assertion  is  truly  of  the  legerdemain  kind,  ap- 
pearing at  once  both  right  and  wrong.  All  writers  on  Cato's 
side  have  used  the  same  argument  and  conceived  themselves 
invincible  ;  nevertheless,  a  single  expression  properly  placed 
dissolves  the  charm,  for  the  cheat  lies  in  putting  the  time 
for  the  cause.  For  the  cheat  lies  in  putting  the  consequence 
for  the  cause  ;  for  had  we  not  flourished  the  connection  had 
never  existed  or  never  been  regarded,  and  this  is  fully  proved 
by  the  neglect  shewn  to  the  first  settlers  who  had  every  dif- 
ficulty to  struggle  with,  unnoticed  and  unassisted  by  the 
British  Court. 

Cato  proceeds  very  industriously  to  sum  up  the  former 
declarations  of  Congress  and  other  public  bodies,  some  of 
which  were  made  upwards  of  a  year  ago,  to  prove,  that  the 
doctrine  of  Independance  hath  no  sanction  from  them.  To 
this  I  shall  give  Cato  one  general  answer  which  is,  that  had 
he  produced  a  thousand  more  such  authorities  they  would 
now  amount  to  nothing,  they  are  out  of  date ;  times  and 
things  are  altered  ;  the  true  character  of  the  King  was  but 
little  known  among  the  body  of  the  poeple  of  America  a 
year  ago  ;  willing  to  believe  him  good,  they  fondly  called 


THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS. 


him  so,  but  have  since  found  that  Cato's  Royal  Sovereign, 
is  a  Royal  Savage. 

Cato  hath  introduced  the  above-mentioned  long  quotation 
of  authorities  against  independance,  with  the  following 
curious  preface.  "  Nor  have  many  weeks,"  says  he,  "  yet 
elapsed  since  the  first  open  proposition  for  independance 
was  published  to  the  world.  By  what  men  of  consequence 
this  scheme  is  supported  or  whether  by  any,  may  possibly 
be  the  subject  of  future  enquiry.  Certainly  it  hath  no  coun- 
tenance from  the  Congress,  to  whose  sentiments  we  look  up 
with  reverence.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  directly  repugnant  to 
every  declaration  of  that  respectable  body."  Now  Cato, 
thou  hast  nailed  thyself  with  a  witness  !  Directly  repug- 
nant to  every  declaration  of  that  respectable  body  !  Mind 
that,  Cato,  and  mark  what  follows.  It  appears  by  an  ex- 
tract from  the  resolves  of  the  Congress,  printed  in  the  front 
of  the  oration  delivered  by  Dr.  Smith,  in  honor  of  that 
brave  man  General  Montgomery,  that  he,  the  Doctor,  was 
appointed  by  that  honorable  body  to  compose  and  deliver 
the  same  ;  in  the  execution  of  which,  the  orator  exclaimed 
loudly  against  the  doctrine  of  independance ;  but  when  a 
motion  was  afterwards  made  in  Congress,  (according  to 
former  usage)  to  return  the  orator  thanks,  and  request  a 
copy  for  the  press,  the  motion  was  rejected  from  every  part 
of  the  house  and  thrown  out  without  a  division.* 

I  now  proceed  to  Cato's  third  letter,  in  the  opening  of 
which  he  deserts  the  subject  of  independance,  and  renews 

'  "An  Oration  in  memory  of  General  Montgomery,  and  of  the  Officers  who 
fell  with  him,  December  31,  1775,  before  Quebec  ;  drawn  up  (and  delivered  Feb- 
ruary 19th,  1776,)  at  the  desire  of  the  Honourable  Continental  Congress.  By 
William  Smith,  D.D.,  Provost  of  the  College  and  Academy  of  Philadelphia. 
Philadelphia,  printed  :  London,  reprinted  for  J.  Almon,  opposite  Burlington- 
house,  Picadilly.  MDCCLXXVI."  On  p.  24  Dr.  Smith  quotes  the  petition  of 
Congress  "  for  a  '  restoration  of  the  former  harmony  between  Great  Britain  and 
these  Colonies '  etc."  In  a  footnote  Dr.  Smith  refers  to  the  censures  of  this 
passage,  and  adds  that  since  the  petition  the  situation  had  changed.  It  was  well 
known  that  Dr.  Smith  was  "  Cato,"  and  Paine's  reference  to  the  resentment  of 
Congress  was  an  especially  severe  thrust,  because  "  Cato  "  in  his  second  letter 
(dated  March  11)  had  repeated  his  offence,  recapitulating  all  the  conciliatory 
efforts  of  Congress  at  an  earlier  period. — Editor. 


138  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


his  attack  on  the  Committee.'  Cato's  manner  of  writing^ 
has  as  much  order  in  it  as  the  motion  of  a  squirrel.  He 
frequently  writes  as  if  he  knew  not  what  to  write  next,  just 
as  the  other  jumps  about,  only  because  it  cannot  stand  still. 
Though  I  am  sometimes  angry  with  him  for  his  unprincipled 
method  of  writing  and  reasoning,  I  cannot  help  laughing  at 
other  times  for  his  want  of  ingenuity  :  One  instance  of  which 
he  gives  us  in  kindly  warning  us  against  "  the  foul  pages  of 
interested  writers,  and  strangers  inter medling  in  our  affair sT 
Were  I  to  reply  seriously  my  answer  would  be  this :  Thou 
seemest  then  ignorant,  Cato,  of  that  ancient  and  numerous 
order  which  are  related  to  each  other  in  all  and  every  part 
of  the  globe — with  whom  the  kindred  is  not  formed  by  place 
or  accident,  but  in  principle  and  sentiment.  A  freeman, 
Cato,  is  a  stranger  nowhere — a  slave,  everywhere.  But 
were  I  disposed  to  answer  merrily,  I  should  tell  him,  that  as 
his  notions  of  friendship  were  so  very  narrow  and  local,  he 
obliges  me  to  understand,  that  when  he  addresses  the  people 
with  the  tender  title  of  "  my  dear  countrymeft "  which  fre- 
quently occurs  in  his  letters,  he  particularly  means  the  long 
list  of  Macs  published  in  Donald  M'Donald's  Commission.' 

In  this  letter  Cato  recommends  the  pamphlet  called  Plain 
Truth,  a  performance  which  hath  withered  away  like  a  sickly 
unnoticed  weed,  and  which  even  its  advocates  are  displeased 
at,  and  the  author  ashamed  to  own.'  About  the  middle  of 
this  third  letter,  Cato  gives  notice  of  his  being  ready  to  take 
the  field.    "  I  now  proceed,"  says  he,  "  to  give  my  reasons." 

'  See  note  in  the  preceding  letter,  p.  129. — Editor. 

^  M'Donald  was  Brigadier-General  of  the  Highlanders  who  were  defeated  by 
the  North  Carolinians  on  February  27,  1776,  at  Moore's  Creek  Bridge.  M'Donald 
being  ill  on  that  day  the  command  devolved  on  M'Leod,  who  fell,  as  mentioned 
in  the  preceding  letter.  Dr.  William  Smith,  a  pronounced  Scotchman,  in 
alluding  to  Paine  as  a  "stranger,"  could  hardly  have  been  aware  that  his 
identity  with  "  Cato"  was  known. — Editor. 

'"Plain  Truth:  addressed  to  the  Inhabitants  of  America,  containing  Re- 
marks on  a  late  Pamphlet,  intitled  Common  Sense  :  etc.  Written  by  Candidus. 
Will  ye  turn  from  Flattery  and  attend  to  this  Side  ? "  This  pamphlet  of  37 
pages,  published  in  Philadelphia  and  London,  was  the  most  elaborate  of  many 
replies  to  "Common  Sense."  It  was  dull,  however,  and  was  out  of  date 
almost  as  soon  as  it  appeared. — Editor. 


1776] 


139 


How  Cato  hath  managed  the  attack  we  are  now  to  examine ; 
and  the  first  remark  I  shall  offer  on  his  conduct  is,  that  he 
hath  most  unluckily  entered  the  list  on  the  wrong  side,  and 
discharged  his  first  fire  among  the  tories. 

In  order  to  prove  this,  I  shall  give  the  paragraph  entire  : — 
"  Agriculture  and  Commerce,"  says  Cato,  "  have  hitherto 
been  the  happy  employments,  by  which  these  middle  colonies 
have  risen  into  wealth  and  importance.  By  tJiein  the  face  of 
the  country  has  been  changed  from  a  barren  wilderness,  into 
the  hospitable  abodes  of  peace  and  plenty.  Without  thern 
we  had  either  never  existed  as  Americans,  or  existed  only 
as  savages.  The  oaks  would  still  have  possessed  their 
native  spots  of  cart Ji,  and  never  have  appeared  in  the  form  of 
ships  and  houses.  What  are  now  well  cultivated  fields,  or 
flourishing  cities,  would  have  remained  only  the  solitary 
haunts  of  wild  beasts  or  of  men  equally  wild."  The  reader 
cannot  help  perceiving  that  through  this  whole  paragraph 
our  connexion  with  Britain  is  left  entirely  out  of  the  question, 
and  our  present  greatness  attributed  to  external  causes, 
agriculture  and  commerce.  This  is  a  strange  way,  Cato,  of 
overturning  Common  Sense,  which  says,  "  I  challenge  the 
warmest  advocate  for  reconciliation,  to  shew  a  single  advan- 
tage which  this  continent  can  reap  by  being  connected  with 
Great-Britain  ;  I  repeat,"  says  he,  "  the  challenge  :  not  a  single 
advantage  is  derived.  Our  corn  will  fetch  its  price  in  any 
market  in  Europe  ;  and  our  imported  goods  must  be  paid  for, 
buy  them  where  ive  will.''  Cato  introduces  his  next  para- 
graph with  saying,  "  that  much  of  our  former  felicity  was 
owing  to  the  protection  of  England  is  not  to  be  denied.''' 
Yes,  Cato,  I  deny  it  wholly,  and  for  the  following  clear  and 
simple  reasons,  viz.,  that  our  being  connected  with,  and  sub- 
mitting to  be  protected  by  her,  made,  and  will  still  make, 
all  her  enemies,  our  enemies,  or  as  Common  Sense  says,  "  sets 
us  at  variance  with  nations  who  would  otherwise  seek  our 
friendship,  and  against  whom  we  have  neither  anger  nor 
complaint." 

The  following  passage  is  so  glaringly  absurd  that  I  shall 
make  but  a  short  comment  upon  it.    "  And  if  hereafter," 


14© 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


says  Cato,  "  in  the  fulness  of  time,  it  shall  be  necessary  to 
separate  from  the  land  that  gave  birth  to  [some  of]  our 
ancestors,  it  will  be  in  a  state  of  perfect  manhood,  when  we 
can  fully  wield  our  oivn  arms,  and  protect  our  commerce  and 
coasts  by  our  own  fleets."  But  how  are  we  to  come  by  fleets, 
Cato,  while  Britain  hath  the  government  of  the  Continent  ? 
Unless  we  are  to  suppose,  as  you  have  hinted  in  the  former 
paragraph,  that  our  oaks  are  to  grow  into  ships,  and  be 
launched  self-built  from  their  "  native  spots  of  earth."  It  is 
Cato's  misfortune  as  a  writer,  not  to  distinguish  justly  be- 
tween magic  and  imagination  ;  while  on  the  other  hand  there 
are  many  passages  in  his  letters  so  seriously  and  deliberately 
false,  that  nothing  but  the  most  hardened  effrontery,  and  a 
cast  of  mind  bordering  upon  impiety,  would  have  uttered. 
He  frequently  forces  me  out  of  the  common  track  of  civil 
language,  in  order  to  do  him  justice ;  moderation  and 
temper  being  really  unequal  to  the  task  of  exposing  him. 

Cato,  unless  he  meant  to  destroy  the  ground  he  stood 
upon,  ought  not  to  have  let  the  following  paragraph  be  seen. 
"  If  our  present  differences,''  says  he,  "  can  be  accommodated, 
there  is  scarce  a  probability  that  Britain  will  ever  renew  her 
late  fatal  system  of  policy,  or  attempt  again  to  employ  force 
against  us."  How  came  Cato  to  admit  the  probability  of  our 
being  brought  again  into  the  same  bloody  and  expensive 
situation  ?  But  it  is  worth  remarking,  that  those  who  write 
without  principle,  cannot  help  sometimes  blundering 
upon  truth.  Then  there  is  no  real  security,  Cato,  in  this 
reconciliation  of  yours  on  constitutional  principles  ?  It  still 
amounts  to  nothing  ;  and  after  all  this  expence  of  life  and 
wealth,  we  are  to  rest  at  last  upon  hope,  hazard,  and  uncer- 
tainty.   Why  then,  by  all  that  is  sacred,  "  it  is  time  to  part." 

But  Cato,  after  .admitting  the  probability  of  our  being 
brought  again  into  the  same  situation,  proceeds  to  tell  us 
how  we  are  to  conduct  ourselves  in  the  second  quarrel ;  and 
that  is,  by  the  very  same  methods  we  have  done  the  present 
one,  viz.,  to  expend  millions  of  treasure,  and  thousands  of 
lives,  in  order  to  patch  up  a  second  utiion,  that  the  way  may 
be  open  for  a  third  quarrel ;   and  in  this  endless  and 


THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS. 


141 


chequered  round  of  blood  and  treacherous  peace,  hath  Cato 
disposed  of  the  Continent  of  America.  That  I  may  not  be 
thought  to  do  Cato  injustice,  I  have  quoted  the  whole  pass- 
age: "But  should  Britain  be  so  infatuated,"  says  he, '*  at 
any  future  period,  as  to  think  of  subjugating  us,  either  by 
the  arts  of  corruption,  or  oppressive  exertions  of  power,  can 
we  entertain  a  doubt  but  we  shall  Again,  with  a  virtue  equal 
to  the  present  and  with  the  weapons  of  defence  in  our  hands 
(when  necessary)  convince  her  that  we  are  willing  by  a  con- 
stitutional cofineciion  with  her,  to  afford  and  receive  reciprocal 
benefits ;  but  although  subjects  of  the  same  King,  we  will 
not  consent  to  be  her  slaves." — Come  hither,  ye  little  ones, 
whom  the  poisonous  hand  of  Cato  is  rearing  for  destruction, 
and  remember  the  page  that  warns  ye  of  your  ruin. 

Cato,  in  many  of  his  expressions,  discovers  all  that  calm 
command  over  the  passions  and  feelings  which  always  dis- 
tinguishes the  man  who  hath  expelled  them  from  his  heart. 
Of  this  careless  kind  is  the  before  mentioned  phrase,  "  our 
present  differences,"  and  the  same  unpardonable  negligence 
is  conveyed  in  the  following  one :  "  Although  I  consider 
her,"  says  he,  "  as  having  in  her  late  conduct  toward  us, 
acted  the  part  of  a  cruel  stepdame."  Wonderful  sensibility 
indeed !  All  the  havoc  and  desolation  of  unnatural  war ; 
the  destruction  of  thousands  ;  the  burning  and  depopulating 
of  towns  and  cities  ;  the  ruin  and  separation  of  friends  and 
families,  are  just  sufficient  to  extort  from  Cato,  this  one 
callous  confession.  But  the  cold  and  creeping  soul  of  Cato 
is  a  stranger  to  the  manly  powers  of  sympathetic  sorrow. 
He  moves  not,  nor  can  he  move  in  so  pure  an  element.  Ac- 
customed to  lick  the  hand  that  hath  made  him  visible,  and  to 
breathe  the  gross  atmosphere  of  servile  and  sordid  depend- 
ence, his  soul  would  now  starve  on  virtue,  and  suffocate  in 
the  clear  region  of  disinterested  friendship. 

Surely  when  Cato  sat  down  to  write,  he  either  did  not 
expect  to  be  called  to  an  account,  or  was  totally  regardless 
of  reputation,  otherwise  he  would  not  have  endeavoured  to 
persuade  the  public  that  the  doctrine  of  Independance  was 
broached  in  a  kind  of  seditious  manner,  at  a  time  "  when." 


142 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


says  he,  some  gleams  of  reconciliation  began  first  to  break  in 
upon  us.''  Come  forth,  Cato,  and  prove  the  assertion ! 
Where  do  these  gleams  of  reconciliation  spring  from  ?  Are 
they  to  be  found  in  the  King's  speech,  in  the  address  of 
either  House  of  Parliament,  or  in  the  act  which  lets  loose  a 
whole  kennel  of  pirates  upon  our  property,  and  commissions 
another  set  to  insult  with  pardons  the  very  men  whom  their 
own  measures  had  sought  to  ruin  ?  Either  prove  the  asser- 
tion, Cato,  or  take  the  reward  of  it,  for  it  is  the  part  of  an 
incendiary  to  endeavour  with  specious  falsehoods  to  mislead 
the  credulity  of  unwary  readers.  Cato  likewise  says,  that, 
while  we  continue  united,  and  renounce  all  thoughts  of  In- 
dependance,  "  we  have  the  utmost  assurance  of  obtaining  a 
full  redress  of  owx  grievances,  and  an  ample  security  against 
any  future  violation  of  our  just  rights''  If  Cato  means  to 
insinuate  that  we  have  received  such  an  assurance,  let  him 
read  the  conclusion  of  the  preceeding  paragraph  again.  The 
same  answer  will  serve  for  both. 

Perhaps  when  we  recollect  the  long  and  unabated  cruelty 
of  the  British  court  towards  us,  and  remember  the  many 
prayers  which  we  have  put  up  both  to  them  and  for  them, 
the  following  piece  of  declamation  of  Cato  can  hardly  be 
equalled  either  for  absurdity  or  insanity :  "  If  we  now 
effect  independance,"  says  he,  "  we  must  be  considered  as  a 
faithless  people  in  the  sight  of  all  mankind,  and  could  scarcely 
expect  the  confidence  of  any  nation  upon  earth,  or  look  up  to 
Heaven  for  its  approving  sentence."  Art  thou  mad,  Cato,  or 
art  thou  foolish — or  art  thou  both — or  art  thou  worse  than 
both?  In  this  passage  thou  hast  fairly  gone  beyond  me.  I 
have  not  language  to  bring  thee  back.  Thou  art  safely 
intrenched  indeed !  Rest  therefore  in  thy  stronghold  till 
He  who  fortified  thee  in  it  shall  come  and  fetch  thee  out. 

Cato  seems  to  be  possessed  of  that  Jesuitical  cunning 
which  always  endeavours  to  disgrace  what  it  cannot  dis- 
prove ;  and  this  he  sometimes  effects,  by  unfairly  intro- 
ducing our  terms  into  his  arguments,  and  thereby  begets  a 
monster  which  he  sends  round  the  country  for  a  show,  and 
tells  the  good  people  that  the  name  of  it  is  independance. 


THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS. 


Of  this  character  are  several  passages  in  his  fourth  and 
fifth  letters,  particularly  when  he  quotes  the  term  ''foreign 
assistance"  which  he  ungenerously  explains  into  a  surrender 
of  the  Continent  to  France  and  Spain.  Such  an  unfair  and 
sophistical  reasoner  doth  not  deserve  the  civility  of  good 
manners.  He  creates,  likewise,  the  same  confusion  by  fre- 
quently using  the  word  peace  for  union,  and  thereby  charges 
us  falsely  by  representing  us  as  being  determined  to  "  reject 
all  proposition  of  peace."  Whereas,  our  wish  is  peace  but 
not  rc-union ;  and  though  we  would  gladly  listen  to  the 
former,  we  are  determined  to  resist  every  proposal  for  the 
latter,  come  from  where  it  will ;  being  fully  persuaded,  that 
in  the  present  state  of  affairs  separation  of  governments  is 
the  only  and  best  thing  that  can  be  done  for  both  countries. 

The  following  case  is  unjustly  put.  "  There  never  was  a 
war,"  says  Cato,  "  so  implacable,  even  among  states  naturally 
rivals  and  enemies,  or  among  savages  themselves,  as  not  to 
peace  for  its  object  as  well  as  the  end."  But  was  there 
ever  a  war,  Cato,  which  had  Mwzfw  for  its  object  ?  No.  What 
Cato  means  by  states  naturally  rivals  and  enemies,  I  shall 
not  enquire  into,  but  this  I  know  (for  myself  at  least)  that  it 
was  not  in  the  power  of  France  or  Spain,  or  all  the  other 
powers  in  Europe,  to  have  given  such  a  wound,  or  raised  us 
to  such  a  mortal  hatred  as  Britain  hath  done.  We  feel  the 
same  kind  of  undescribed  anger  at  her  conduct,  as  we  would 
at  the  sight  of  an  animal  devouring  its  young  ;  and  this  par- 
ticular species  of  anger  is  not  generated  in  the  transitory 
temper  of  the  man,  but  in  the  chaste  and  undefiled  womb 
of  nature. 

Cato,  towards  the  conclusion  of  his  third  letter,  (at  which 
place  I  shall  leave  him  for  the  present,)  compares  the  state 
of  Britain  and  America  to  the  quarrels  of  lovers,  and  from 
thence  infers  a  probability,  that  our  affections  will  be  re- 
newed thereby.  This  I  cannot  help  looking  on  as  one  of 
the  most  unnatural  and  distorted  similes  that  can  be  drawn. 
Come  hither  ye  that  are  lovers,  or  ye  that  have  been  lovers, 
and  decide  the  controversy  between  us !  What  comparison 
is  there  between  the  soft  murmurs  of  an  heart  mourning  in 


144  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


secret,  and  the  loud  horrors  of  war — between  the  silent  tears 
of  pensive  sorrow,  and  rivers  of  wasted  blood — between 
the  szvcet  strife  of  affection,  and  the  bitter  strife  of  death — 
between  the  curable  calamities  of  pettish  lovers,  and  the  sad 
sight  of  a  thousand  slain  !  "  Get  thee  behind  me,"  Cato,  for 
thou  hast  not  the  feelings  of  a  man. 

The  Forester. 

Philadelphia,  April  8,  1776. 


III. 
TO  CATO. 

Cato'S  partizans  may  call  me  furious  ;  I  regard  it  not. 
There  are  men,  too,  who  have  not  virtue  enough  to  be  angry 
and  that  crime  perhaps  is  Cato's.  He  who  dares  not  offend 
cannot  be  honest.  Having  thus  balanced  the  charge,  I  pro- 
ceed to  Cato's  4th,  5th,  6th,  and  7th  letters,  all  of  which,  as 
they  contain  but  little  matter,  I  shall  dismiss  with  as  little 
trouble  and  less  formality. 

His  fourth  letter  is  introduced  with  a  punning  Soliloquy — 
Cato's  title  to  soliloquies  is  indisputable  ;  because  no  man 
cares  for  his  company.*  However,  he  disowns  the  writing 
it,  and  assures  his  readers  that  it  "  was  really  put  into  his 
hands."  I  always  consider  this  confirming  mode  of  expres- 
sion as  betraying  a  suspicion  of  one's  self ;  and  in  this  place 
it  amounts  to  just  as  much  as  if  Cato  had  said,  "you  know 
my  failing,  Sirs,  but  what  I  tell  you  now  is  really  true." 
Well,  be  it  so,  Cato ;  you  shall  have  all  the  credit  you  ask 
for ;  and  as  to  when  or  where  or  how  you  got  it,  who  was 
the  author,  or  who  the  giver,  I  shall  not  enquire  after  ;  being 
fully  convinced,  by  the  poetical  merit  of  the  performance, 
that  tho'  the  writer  of  it  may  be  an  Allen^  he  '11  never  be  a 
Ramsay. f    Thus  much  for  the  soliloquy;  and  if  this  gentle 

*  As  this  piece  may  possibly  fall  into  the  hands  of  some  who  are  not  acquainted 
with  the  word  Soliloquy,  for  their  information  the  sense  of  it  is  given,  viz. 
"  talking  to  one's  self." — Author. 

■  Allen  was  a  prominent  opponent  of  Independence  in  Philadelphia. — Editor. 

f  Allan  Ramsay  a  famous  Scotch  poet  of  genuine  wit  and  humour. — Author. 


1776] 


THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS. 


chastisement  should  be  the  means  of  preventing  Cato  or  his 
colleague  from  mingling  their  punning  nonsense  with  sub- 
jects of  such  a  serious  nature  as  the  present  one  truly  is,  it 
will  answer  one  of  the  ends  it  was  intended  for. 

Cato's  fourth,  and  the  greatest  part  of  his  fifth  letter,  are 
constructed  on  a  false  meaning  uncivilly  imposed  on  a  pas- 
sage quoted  from  Common  Sense  ;  and  for  which,  the  author 
of  that  pamphlet  hath  a  right  to  expect  from  Cato  the  usual 
concessions.  I  shall  quote  the  passage  entire,  with  Cato's 
additional  meaning,  and  the  inferences  which  he  draws  there- 
from. He  introduces  it  with  saying,  "  In  my  remarks  on 
the  pamphlet  before  me  I  shall  first  consider  those  argu- 
ments on  which,  he  (the  author)  appears  to  lay  his  chief 
stress ;  and  these  are'  collected  under  four  heads  in  his  con- 
clusion, one  of  which  is,  *  //  is  the  custom  of  nations  when 
any  two  are  at  war,  for  some  other  powers  not  engaged  in  the 
quarrel,  to  step  in  by  way  of  Mediators,  and  bring  about  the 
prelimenaries  of  a  peace;  but  while  America  calls  herself  the 
subject  of  Great-Britain,  no  power,  however  well  disposed  she 
may  be,  can  offer  her  mediation.'  "  The  meaning  contained  in 
this  passage  is  so  exceedingly  plain,  and  expressed  in  such 
easy  and  familiar  terms,  that  it  scarcely  admits  of  being 
made  plainer.  No  one,  I  think,  could  have  understood  it 
any  other  wise,  than  that  while  we  continue  to  call  our- 
selves British  Subjects,  the  quarrel  between  us  can  only  be 
called  a  family  quarrel,  in  which,  it  would  be  just  as  indeli- 
cate for  any  other  nation  to  advise,  or  any  ways  to  meddle 
or  make,  even  with  their  offers  of  mediation,  as  it  would 
be  for  a  third  person  to  interfere  in  a  quarrel  between  a  man 
and  his  wife.  Whereas  were  we  to  make  use  of  that  natural 
right  which  all  other  nations  have  done  before  us,  and  erect  a 
government  of  our  own,  independant  of  all  the  world,  the 
quarrel  could  then  be  no  longer  called  a  family  qtiarrel,  but 
a  regular  war  between  the  two  powers  of  Britain  and  Amer- 
ica, in  the  same  manner  as  one  carried  on  between  England 
and  France;  and  in  this  state  of  political  separation,  the 
neutral  powers  might  kindly  render  their  mediation,  (as  hath 
always  been  the  practice)  and  bring  about  the  prehminaries 

VOL.  I. — 10 


146  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


of  a  peace, — not  a  union,  Cato,  that  is  quite  another  thing. 
But  instead  of  Cato's  taking  it  in  this  easy  and  natural 
sense,  he  flies  away  on  a  wrong  scent,  charges  the  author 
with  proposing  to  call  in  foreign  assistance;  and  under  this 
willful  falsehood  raises  up  a  mighty  cry  after  nothing  at  all. 
He  begins  his  wild  and  unintelligible  comment  in  the  follow- 
ing manner  :  "  Is  this,"  says  he,  (meaning  the  passage  already 
quoted)  "  common  sense,  ox  comni07i  nonsense  ?  Surely  peace  * 
with  Great  Britain  cannot  be  the  object  of  this  writer,  after 
the  horrible  character  he  has  given  of  the  people  of  that 
country,  and  telling  us,  that  reconciliation  with  them  would 
be  our  ruin.  The  latter  part  of  the  paragraph  seems  to  cast 
some  light  upon  the  former,  although  it  contradicts  it,  for 
these  mediators  are  not  to  interfere  for  making  up  the  quar- 
rel, but  to  widen  it  by  supporting  us  in  a  declaration,  That 
we  are  not  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain.  A  new  sort  of 
business  truly  for  mediators.  But  this,"  continues  Cato, 
"  leads  us  directly  to  the  main  enquiry — What  foreign  power 
is  able  to  give  us  this  support  ?  "  What  support,  Cato  ?  The 
passage  you  have  quoted  neither  says  a  syllable,  nor  insinu- 
ates a  hint  about  support :— It  speaks  only  oi  neutral  powers 
in  the  neighbourly  character  of  mediators  between  those 
which  are  at  war  ;  and  says  it  is  the  custom  of  European 
courts  to  do  so.  Cato  hath  already  raised  Commissioners 
into  Ambassadors ;  but  how  he  could  transform  mediators 
into  men  in  arms,  and  mediation  into  military  alliance,  is  sur- 
passingly strange.  Read  the  part  over  again,  Cato  ;  if  you 
find  I  have  charged  you  wrongfully,  and  will  point  it  out,  I 
will  engage  that  the  author  of  Common  Sense  shall  ask  your 
pardon  in  the  public  papers,  with  his  name  to  it :  but  if  the 
error  be  yours,  the  concession  on  your  part  follows  as  a 
duty. 

Though  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  Cato  does  not  believe 
one  half  of  what  himself  has  written,  he  nevertheless  takes 
amazing  pains  to  frighten  his  readers  into  a  belief  of  the 
whole.    Tells  them  of  foreign  troops  (which  he  supposes  we 

*  It  is  a  strange  thing  that  Cato  cannot  be  taught  to  distinguish  between  peace 
and  union. — Author. 


1776] 


THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS. 


H7 


are  going  to  send  for)  ravaging  up  and  down  the  country ; 
of  their  "  bloody  massacres,  unrelenting  persecutions,  which 
would  liarrow  tip  (says  he)  tJie  very  souls  of  protestants  and 
freemen.''  Were  they  coming,  Cato,  which  no  one  ever 
dreamed  of  but  yourself  (for  thank  God,  we  want  them  not,) 
it  would  be  impossible  for  them  to  exceed,  or  even  to  equal, 
the  cruelties  practised  by  the  British  army  in  the  East-In- 
dies :  The  tying  men  to  the  mouths  of  cannon  and  "  blow- 
ing them  away  "  was  never  acted  by  any  but  an  English  Gen- 
eral, or  approved  by  any  but  a  British  Court.*  Read  the 
proceedings  of  the  Select  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs. 

From  temporal  fears  Cato  proceeds  to  spiritual  ones,  and 
in  a  hypocritical  panic,  asks,  "  To  whose  share  will  Pennsyl- 
vania fall — that  of  his  most  Catholic,  or  his  most  Christian 
King  ?  I  confess,"  continues  he,  "  that  these  questions 
stagger  me."  I  don't  wonder  at  it,  Cato — I  am  glad  to 
hear  that  some  kind  of  remorse  hath  overtaken  you — that 
you  begin  to  feel  that  you  are  "  heavy  laden."  You  have 
had  a  long  run,  and  the  stoutest  heart  must  fail  at  last. 

Cato  perceiving  that  the  falsehoods  in  his  fourth  letter  past 
unreproved,  ventured  boldly  on  a  fifth,  in  which  he  continues, 
enlarging  on  the  same  convenient  bugbear.  "  In  my  last," 
says  he,  "some  notice  was  taken  of  the  dangerous  proposi- 
tion held  up  by  the  author  of  Common  Sense,  for  having  re- 
course to  foreign  assistance."  When  will  Cato  learn  to 
speak  the  truth !  The  assistance  which  we  hope  for  from 
France  is  not  armies,  (we  want  them  not)  but  arms  and 
ammunition.  We  have  already  received  into  this  province 
only,  near  two  hundred  tons  of  saltpetre  and  gunpowder, 
besides  muskets.  Surely  we  may  continue  to  cultivate  a 
useful  acquaintance,  without  such  malevolent  beings  as  Cato 
raising  his  barbarous  slander  thereon.  At  this  time  it  is  not 
only  illiberal,  but  impolitic,  and  perhaps  dangerous  to  be 
pouring  forth  such  torrents  of  abuse,  as  his  fourth  and  fifth 
letters  contain,  against  the  only  power  that  in  articles  of 
defence  hath  supplied  our  hasty  wants. 

*  Lord  Clive,  the  chief  of  Eastern  plunderers,  received  the  thanks  of  Parlia- 
ment for  "  his  honourable  conduct  in  the  East-Indies. — Author. 


148 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


Cato,  after  expending  near  two  letters  in  beating  down  an 
idol  which  himself  only  had  set  up,  proudly  congratulates 
himself  on  the  defeat,  and  marches  off  to  new  exploits, ' 
leaving  behind  him  the  following  proclamation :  "  Having 
thus,"  says  Cato,  "  dispatched  his  (the  author  of  Common 
Sense's)  main  argument  for  independence,  which  he  founds  on 
the  necessity  of  calling  in  foreign  assistance,  I  proceed  to 
examine  some  other  parts  of  his  work."  Not  a  syllable, 
Cato,  doth  any  part  of  the  pamphlet  in  question  say  of  call- 
ing in  foreign  assistance,  or  even  forming  military  alliances. 
The  dream  is  wholly  your  own,  and  is  directly  repugnant 
both  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  every  page  in  the  piece.  The 
idea  which  Common  Sense  constantly  holds  up,  is  to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  political  affairs  of  Europe.  "  As 
Europe,"  says  the  pamphlet,  "  is  our  market  for  trade,  we 
ought  to  form  no  political  connections  with  any  part  of  it. 
It  is  the  true  interest  of  America  to  steer  clear  of  all  Euro- 
pean contentions."  And  where  it  proposes  sending  a  mani- 
festo to  foreign  courts  (which  it  is  high  time  to  do)  it 
recommends  it  only  for  the  purpose  of  announcing  to  them 
the  impossibility  of  our  living  any  longer  under  the  British 
government,  and  of  ^'■assuring  such  Courts  of  our  peaceable 
disposition  towards  them,  and  of  our  desire  of  entering  into 
trade  with  them."  Learn  to  be  an  honest  man,  Cato,  and 
then  thou  wilt  not  be  thus  exposed. — I  have  been  the  more 
particular  in  detecting  Cato  here,  because  it  is  on  this  bubble 
that  his  air-built  battery  against  independance  is  raised — a 
poor  foundation  indeed !  which  even  the  point  of  a  pin,  or  a 
pen,  if  you  please,  can  demolish  with  a  touch,  and  bury  the 
formidable  Cato  beneath  the  ruins  of  a  vapour. 

From  this  part  of  his  fifth  letter  to  the  end  of  his  seventh 
he  entirely  deserts  the  subject  of  independance,  and  sets  up 
the  proud  standard  of  Kings,  in  preference  to  a  Republican 
form  of  Government.  My  remarks  on  this  part  of  the  sub- 
ject will  be  general  and  concise. 

In  this  part  of  the  debate  Cato  shelters  himself  chiefly  in 
quotations  from  other  authors,  without  reasoning  much  on 


1776]  THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS.  149 


the  matter  himself ;  *  in  answer  to  which,  I  present  him  with 
a  string  of  maxims  and  reflexions,  drawn  from  the  nature  of 
things,  without  borrowing  from  any  one.  Cato  may  ob- 
serve, that  I  scarcely  ever  quote  ;  the  reason  is,  I  always 
think.    But  to  return. 

Government  should  always  be  considered  as  a  matter  of 
convenience,  not  of  right.  The  scripture  institutes  no  par- 
ticular form  of  government,  but  it  enters  a  protest  against 
the  monarchical  form  ;  and  a  negation  on  one  thing,  where 
two  only  are  offered,  and  one  must  be  chosen,  amounts  to  an 
affirmative  on  the  other.  Monarchical  government  was  first 
set  up  by  the  Heathens,  and  the  Almighty  permitted  it  to  the 
Jews  as  a  punishment.  "  I  gave  them  a  King  in  mine  anger." 
— Hosea  xiii.  11.  A  Republican  form  of  government  is 
pointed  out  by  nature — Kingly  governments  by  an  unequal- 
ity  of  power.  In  Republican  governments,  the  leaders  of 
the  people,  if  improper,  are  removable  by  vote ;  Kings  only 
by  arms :  an  unsuccessful  vote  in  the  first  case,  leaves  the 
voter  safe  ;  but  an  unsuccessful  attempt  in  the  latter,  is 
death.  Strange,  that  that  which  is  our  right  in  the  one, 
should  be  our  rtii7i  in  the  other.  From  which  reflexion 
follows  this  maxim.  That  that  mode  of  government  in 
which  our  right  becomes  our  ruin,  cannot  be  the  right  one. 
If  all  human  nature  be  corrupt,  it  is  needless  to  strengthen 
the  corruption  by  establishing  a  succession  of  Kings,  who, 
be  they  ever  so  base,  are  still  to  be  obeyed  ;  for  the  manners 
of  a  court  will  always  have  an  influence  over  the  morals  of  a 
people.  A  Republican  government  hath  more  true  grandeur 
in  it  than  a  Kingly  one.    On  the  part  of  the  public  it  is 

*  Tke  following  is  an  instance  of  Cato's  method  of  conducting  an  argument  : 
"  Jf  hereditary  succession,  says  Common  Sense,  f  meaning  succession  of  monarch- 
ial governtnents J  did  ensure  a  race  of  good  and  wise  men,  it  would  have  the  seal 
of  divine  authority "thus  we  find  him,"  says  Cato,  "  with  his  own  hand 
affixing  the  seal  of  heaven  to  what  he  before  told  us  the  Devil  invented  and  the 
Almighty  entered  his  protest  against."  Catds  yth  letter. —  This  is  a  strange 
argument  indeed.  Cato,  or  rather  it  is  no  argument  at  all,  for  hereditary  succes- 
sion does  not  ensure  a  race  of  good  and  wise  men,  consequently  has  not  the  seal  of 
divine  authority." — Author. 


I50  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


more  consistent  with  freemen  to  appoint  their  rulers  than  to 
have  them  born ;  and  on  the  part  of  those  who  preside,  it  is 
far  nobler  to  be  a  ruler  by  the  choice  of  the  people,  than  a 
King  by  the  chance  of  birth.  Every  honest  Delegate  is  more 
than  a  Monarch.  Disorders  will  unavoidably  happen  in  all 
states,  but  monarchical  governments  are  the  most  subject 
thereto,  because  the  balance  hangs  uneven.  "  Nineteen  re- 
bellions and  eight  civil  wars  in  England  since  the  conquest" 
Whatever  commotions  are  produced  in  Republican  states, 
are  not  produced  by  a  Republican  spirit,  but  by  those  who 
seek  to  extinguish  it.  A  Republican  state  cannot  produce 
its  own  destruction,  it  can  only  suffer  it.  No  nation  of 
people,  in  their  true  senses,  when  seriously  reflecting  on  the 
rank  which  God  hath  given  them,  and  the  reasoning  facul- 
ties he  hath  blessed  them  with,  would  ever,  of  their  own 
consent,  give  any  one  ina7i  a  negative  power  over  the  whole : 
No  man  since  the  fall  hath  ever  been  equal  to  the  trust, 
wherefore  'tis  insanity  in  us  to  entrust  them  with  it ;  and  in 
this  sense,  all  those  who  have  had  it  have  done  us  right  by 
abusing  us  into  reason.  Nature  seems  sometimes  to  laugh 
at  mankind,  by  giving  them  so  many  fools  for  Kings ;  at 
other  times,  she  punishes  their  folly  by  giving  them  tyrants; 
but  England  must  have  offended  highly  to  be  curst  with  both 
in  one.  Rousseau  proposed  a  plan  for  establishing  a  perpetual 
European  peace ;  which  was,  for  every  State  in  Europe  to 
send  Ambassadors  to  form  a  General  Council,  and  when  any 
difference  happened  between  any  two  nations,  to  refer  the 
matter  to  arbitration  instead  of  going  to  arms.  This  would 
be  forming  a  kind  of  European  Republic  :  But  the  proud  and 
plundering  spirit  of  Kings  hath  not  peace  for  its  object. 
They  look  not  at  the  good  of  mankind.  They  set  not  out 
upon  that  plan  :  And  if  the  history  of  the  Creation  and  the 
history  of  Kings  be  compared  together  the  result  will  be 
this — that  God  hath  made  a  world,  and  Kings  have  robbed 
him  of  it. 

But  that  which  sufficiently  establishes  the  Republican 
mode  of  government,  in  preference  to  a  Kingly  one,  even 
when  all  other  arguments  are  left  out,  is  this  simple  truth, 


1776]  THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS.  151 


that  all  men  are  Republicans  by  nature,  and  Royalists  only 
by  fashion.  And  this  is  fully  proved  by  that  passionate 
adoration  which  all  men  shew  to  that  great  and  almost  only 
remaining  bulwark  of  natural  rights,  trial  by  juries,  which  is 
founded  on  a  pure  Republican  basis.  Here  the  power  of 
Kings  is  shut  out.  No  Royal  negative  can  enter  this  Court. 
The  Jury,  which  is  here  supreme,  is  a  Republic,  a  body  of 
Judges  chosen  from  among  the  people. 

The  charter  which  secures  this  freedom  in  England,  was 
formed,  not  in  the  senate,  but  in  the  field ;  and  insisted  on 
by  the  people,  not  granted  by  the  crown  ;  the  crown  in  that 
instance  granted  nothing,  but  only  renounced  its  former 
tyrannies,  and  bound  itself  over  to  its  future  good  behaviour. 
It  was  the  compromise,  by  which  the  wearer  of  it  made  his 
peace  with  the  people,  and  the  condition  on  which  he  was 
suffered  to  reign. 

Here  ends  my  reply  to  all  the  letters  which  have  at  present 
appeared  under  the  signature  of  Cato,  being  at  this  time 
seven  in  number.  I  have  made  no  particular  remarks  on  his 
last  two,  which  treat  only  of  the  mode  of  government,  but 
answered  them  generally.  In  one  place  I  observe,  he  accuses 
the  writer  of  Common  Sense  with  inconsistency  in  having 
declared,  "  That  no  man  was  a  warmer  wisher  for  reconcilia- 
tion than  himself,  before  the  fatal  19th  of  April,  1775  "  ' ; 
"  that  is,"  (says  Cato)  reconciliation  to  monarchical  govern- 
ment." To  which  I  reply  that  war  ought  to  be  no  man's 
wish,  neither  ought  any  man  to  perplex  a  state,  already 
formed,  with  his  private  opinions  ;  "  the  mode  of  government 
being  a  proper  consideration  for  those  countries "  only 
"  which  have  their  governments  yet  to  form."  {Common 
Sense). 

On  a  review  of  the  ground  which  I  have  gone  over  in 
Cato's  letters,  (exclusive  of  what  I  have  omitted)  I  find  the 
following  material  charges  against  him  : 

First.  He  hath  accused  the  Committee  with  crimes  gener- 
ally ;  stated  none,  nor  proved,  nor  attempted  to  prove  any. 

'  The  "  Massacre  at  Lexington,"  as  it  was  generally  called. — Editor. 


152  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


N.  B.  The  pretence  of  charging  the  acts  of  a  body  of  men 
on  individuals,  is  too  slender  to  be  admitted.* 

Secondly.  He  hath  falsely  complained  to  the  public  of  the 
restraint  of  the  press. 

Thirdly.  He  hath  wickedly  asserted  that  "  gleams  of  rec- 
onciliation hath  lately  broken  in  upon  us,"  thereby  grossly 
deceiving  the  people. 

Fourthly.  He  hath  insinuated,  as  if  he  wished  the  public 
to  believe,  that  we  had  received  "  the  utmost  assurance  of 
having  all  our  grievances  redressed,  and  an  ample  security 
against  any  future  violation  of  our  just  rights." 

Fifthly.  He  hath  spread  false  alarms  of  calling  in  foreign 
troops. 

Sixthly.  He  hath  turned  the  scripture  into  a  jest.    Ez.  35. 

These  falsehoods,  if  uncontradicted,  might  have  passed  for 
truths,  and  the  minds  of  persons  remote  from  better  intelli- 
gence might  have  been  greatly  embarrassed  thereby.  Let 
our  opinions  be  what  they  will,  truth  as  to  facts  should  be 
strictly  adhered  to.  It  was  this  affecting  consideration  that 
drew  out  the  Forester  (a  perfect  volunteer)  to  the  painful 
task  of  writing  three  long  letters,  and  occasioned  to  the 
public  the  trouble  of  reading  them. 

Having  for  the  present  closed  my  correspondence  with 
Cato,  I  shall  conclude  this  letter  with  a  well  meant  affec- 
tionate address 

To  the  People. 

It  is  not  a  time  to  trifle.  Men,  who  know  they  deserve 
nothing  from  their  country,  and  whose  hope  is  on  the  arm 
that  hath  fought  to  enslave  ye,  may  hold  out  to  you,  as  Cato 
hath  done,  the  false  light  of  reconciliation.    There  is  no  such 

*  Cato  and  I  differ  materially  in  our  opinion  of  Committees  ;  I  consider  them 
as  the  only  constitutional  bodies  at  present  in  this  province,  and  that  for  the  fol- 
lowing reason  ;  they  were  duly  elected  by  the  people,  and  chearfuUy  do  the 
service  for  which  they  were  elected.  The  House  of  Assembly  were  likewise 
elected  by  the  people,  but  do  the  business  for  which  they  were  not  elected. 
Their  authority  is  truly  unconstitutional,  being  self-created.  My  charge  is  as  a 
body,  and  not  as  individuals. — Author.  The  Committee  referred  to  is  that 
mentioned  in  a  note  to  the  Forester's  first  letter,  p.  129. — Editor. 


THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS. 


thing.  'Tis  gone !  'Tis  past !  The  grave  hath  parted  us 
— and  death,  in  the  persons  of  the  slain,  hath  cut  the  thread 
of  life  between  Britain  and  America. 

Conquest,  and  not  reconciliation  is  the  plan  of  Britain. 
But  admitting  even  the  last  hope  of  the  Tories  to  happen, 
which  is,  that  our  enemies  after  a  long  succession  of  losses, 
wearied  and  disabled,  should  despairingly  throw  down  their 
arms  and  propose  a  re-union  ;  in  that  case,  what  is  to  be 
■done  ?  Are  defeated  and  disappointed  tyrants  to  be  con- 
sidered like  mistaken  and  converted  friends?  Or  would  it 
be  right,  to  receive  those  for  Governors,  who,  had  they  been 
conquerors,  would  have  hung  us  up  for  traitors  ?  Certainly 
not.  Reject  the  offer  then,  and  propose  another  ;  which  is, 
we  will  make  peace  with  you  as  with  enemies,  but  we  will  never 
re-unite  with  you  as  friends.  This  effected,  and  ye  secure 
to  yourselves  the  pleasing  prospect  of  an  eternal  peace. 
America,  remote  from  all  the  wrangling  world,  may  live  at 
ease.  Bounded  by  the  ocean,  and  backed  by  the  wilderness, 
who  hath  she  to  fear,  but  her  GOD  ? 

Be  not  deceived.  It  is  not  a  little  that  is  at  stake.  Rec- 
onciliation will  not  now  go  down,  even  if  it  were  offered. 
'Tis  a  dangerous  question ;  for  the  eyes  of  all  men  begin  to 
open.  There  is  now  no  secret  in  the  matter ;  there  ought 
to  be  none.  It  is  a  case  that  concerns  every  man,  and  every 
man  ought  to  lay  it  to  heart.  He  that  is  here  and  he  that 
was  born  here  are  alike  concerned.  It  is  needless,  too,  to 
split  the  business  into  a  thousand  parts,  and  perplex  it  with 
endless  and  fruitless  investigations,  in  the  manner  that  a 
writer  signed  a  Common  Man  hath  done.  This  unparalleled 
contention  of  nations  is  not  to  be  settled  like  a  schoolboy's 
task  of  pounds,  shillings,  pence,  and  fractions.  That  writer, 
though  he  may  mean  well,  is  strangely  below  the  mark :  for 
the  first  and  great  question,  and  that  which  involves  every 
other  in  it,  and  from  which  every  other  will  flow,  is  happi- 
ness. Can  this  continent  be  happy  under  the  government  of 
Great  Britain  or  not  ?  Secondly,  Can  she  be  happy  under 
a  government  of  our  own  ?  To  live  beneath  the  authority 
of  those  whom  we  cannot  love,  is  misery,  slavery,  or  what 


154  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


name  you  please.  In  that  case,  there  will  never  be  peace. 
Security  will  be  a  thing  unknown,  because  a  treacherous 
friend  in  power  is  the  most  dangerous  of  enemies.  The 
answer  to  the  second  question,  Can  America  be  happy  under 
a  government  of  her  own,  is  short  and  simple,  viz.  As  happy 
as  she  please ;  she  hath  a  blank  sheet  to  write  upon.  Put 
it  not  off  too  long.* 

Painful  as  the  task  of  speaking  truth  must  sometimes  be, 
yet  I  cannot  avoid  giving  the  following  hint,  because  much, 
nay  almost  every  thing  depends  upon  it ;  and  that  is,  a 
tJiorough  knowledge  of  the  persons  whom  we  trust.  It  is  the 
duty  of  the  public,  at  this  time,  to  scrutinize  closely  into  the 
conduct  of  their  Committee  Members,  Members  of  Assem- 
bly, and  Delegates  in  Congress  ;  to  know  what  they  do,  and 
their  motives  for  so  doing.  Without  doing  this,  we  shall 
never  know  who  to  confide  in ;  but  shall  constantly  mistake 
friends  for  enemies,  and  enemies  for  friends,  till  in  the  con- 
fusion of  persons  we  sacrifice  the  cause.  I  am  led  to  this  re- 
flexion by  the  following  circumstance.  That  the  Gentleman 
to  whom  the  unwise  and  arbitrary  instructions  to  the  Dele- 
gates of  this  province  owe  their  being,  and  who  hath  bestowed 
all  his  power  to  support  them,  is  said  to  be  the  same  person 
who,  when  the  ships  now  on  the  stocks  were  wanting  timber, 
refused  to  sell  it,  and  thus  by  preventing  our  strength  to  cry 
out  of  our  insufficiency. — But  his  hour  of  fame  is  past — he 
is  hastening  to  his  political  exit. 

The  Forester. 


IV. 

Whoever  will  take  the  trouble  of  attending  to  the  pro- 
gress and  changeability  of  times  and  things,  and  the  conduct 
of  mankind  thereon,  will  find,  that  extraordinary  circumstan- 
ces do  sometimes  arise  before  us,  of  a  species,  either  so  purely 
natural  or  so  perfectly  original,  that  none  but  the  man  of 

*  Forget  not  the  hapless  African. — Author. 


THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS. 


'55 


nature  can  understand  them.  When  precedents  fail  to  spirit 
us,  we  must  return  to  the  first  principles  of  things  for  infor- 
mation ;  and  think,  as  if  we  were  the  first  men  that  t/might. 
And  this  is  the  true  reason  that,  in  the  present  state  of  affairs, 
the  wise  are  become  foolish,  and  the  foolish  wise.  I  am  led 
to  this  reflexion  by  not  being  able  to  account  for  the  con- 
duct of  the  Quakers  on  any  other  :  for  although  they  do  not 
seem  to  perceive  it  themselves,  yet  it  is  amazing  to  hear  with 
what  unanswerable  ignorance  many  of  that  body,  wise  in 
other  matters,  will  discourse  on  the  present  one.  Did  they 
hold  places  or  commissions  under  the  King,  were  they  Gov- 
ernors of  provinces,  or  had  they  any  interest  apparently  dis- 
tinct from  us,  the  mystery  would  cease ;  but  as  they  have 
not,  their  folly  is  best  attributed  to  that  superabundance  of 
worldly  knowledge  which  in  original  matters  is  too  cunning  to 
be  wise.  Back  to  the  first  plain  path  of  nature,  friends,  and 
begin  anew:  for  in  this  business  your  first  footsteps  were 
wrong.  You  have  now  travelled  to  the  summit  of  inconsis- 
tency, and  that  with  such  accelerated  rapidity  as  to  acquire 
autumnal  ripeness  by  the  first  of  May.  Now  your  resting 
time  comes  on.  You  have  done  your  utmost  and  must  abide 
the  consequences.  Yet  who  can  reflect  on  such  conduct 
without  feeling  concern  !  Who  can  look,  unaffected,  on  a 
body  of  thoughtful  men,  undoing  in  otie  rash  hour  the  labour 
of  seventy  years  :  Or  what  can  be  said  in  their  excuse,  more, 
than  that  they  have  arrived  at  their  second  childhood,  the 
infancy  of  threescore  and  ten.* 

But  my  chief  design,  in  this  letter,  is  to  set  forth  the  in- 
consistency, partiality,  and  injustice  of  the  dependant  faction,^ 

*  The  Quakers  in  1704  who  then  made  up  ihe  whole  house  of  assembly  [in  Penn- 
sylvania] zealously  guarded  iheir  own  and  ihe  people' s  rights  against  the  encroach- 
ing power  of  the  Proprietor,  who  nevertheless  submitted  them  by  finding  means  to 
abolish  the  original  charter  and  introduce  another ,  of  which  they  complained  in  the 
following  words.  "And  then  by  a  subtle  contrivance  and  artifice,  'of  thine,' 
laid  deeper  than  the  capacities  of  some  could  fathom,  or  the  circumstances  of  inatiy 
could  admit  time  to  consider  of,  a  way  was  found  out  to  lay  the  first  charter  aside 
and  introduce  another." — Query.  Would  these  t?ien  have  elected  the  proprietary 
persons  7vhich  you  have  done  ? — A  uthor. 

'  Opponents  of  American  Independence. — Editor. 


156  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


and  like  an  honest  man,  who  courts  no  favor,  to  shew  to 
them  the  dangerous  ground  they  stand  upon  ;  in  order  to  do 
which,  I  must  refer  to  the  business,  event,  and  probable  conse- 
quences of  the  late  election. 

The  business  of  that  day  was  to  do  what  ?  Why,  to  elect 
four  burgesses  to  assist  those  already  elected,  in  conducting 
the  military  proceedings  of  this  province,  against  the  power 
of  tliat  crown  by  whose  authority  they  pretend  to  sit :  and 
those  gentlemen  when  elected,  are  according  to  the  rules  of 
that  House  (as  the  rest  have  done)  to  take  an  oath  of  alle- 
giance to  serve  the  same  King  against  whom  this  province, 
with  themselves  at  the  head  thereof,  are  at  war :  and  a 
necessary  qualification  required  of  many  voters  was,  that  they 
likewise  should  swear  allegiance  to  the  same  King  against 
whose  power  the  same  house  of  assembly  had  just  before 
obliged  them  either  to  fine  or  take  up  arms.  Did  ever  na- 
tional hypocrisy  arise  to  such  a  pitch  as  this!  Under  the 
pretence  of  moderation  we  are  running  into  the  most  damna- 
ble sins.  It  is  now  the  duty  of  every  man  from  the  pulpit 
and  from  the  press,  in  his  family  and  in  the  street  to  cry  out 
against  it.  Good  God  !  Have  we  no  remembrance  of  duty 
left  to  the  King  of  Heaven  !  No  conscientious  awe  to  restrain 
this  sacrifice  of  sacred  things  ?  Is  this  our  chartered  privilege  ? 
This  our  boasted  constitution,  that  we  can  sin  and  feel  it  not  ? 
The  clergy  of  the  English  church,  of  which  I  profess  myself 
a  member,  complain  of  their  situation,  and  wish  relief ;  in 
short,  every  thinking  man  must  feel  distress.  Yet,  to  the 
credit  of  the  people  be  it  spoken,  the  sin  lies  not  at  their 
door.  We  can  trace  the  iniquity  in  this  province  to  the  foun- 
tain head,  and  see  by  what  delusions  it  has  imposed  on  others. 
The  guilt  centres  in  a  few,  and  flows  from  the  same  source, 
that  a  few  years  ago  avariciously  suffered  the  frontiers  of 
this  province  to  be  deluged  in  blood  ;  and  though  the  ven- 
geance of  Heaven  hath  slept  since,  it  may  awake  too  soon 
for  their  repose. 

A  motion  was  sometime  ago  made  to  elect  a  convention 
to  take  into  consideration  the  state  of  the  province.  A 
more  judicious  proposal  could  not  be  thought  of.    Our  pres- 


1776] 


THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS. 


ent  condition  is  alarming.  We  are  worse  off  then  other 
provinces,  and  such  an  enquiry  is  highly  necessary.  The 
House  of  Assembly  in  its  present  form  is  disqualified  for 
such  business,  because  it  is  a  branch  from  that  power  against 
whom  we  are  contending.  Besides,  they  are  in  inter- 
course with  the  King's  representative,  and  the  members 
which  compose  the  house  have,  as  members  thereof  taken  an 
oath  to  discover  to  the  King  of  England  the  very  business 
which,  in  that  inquiry,  would  unavoidably  come  before  them. 
Their  minds  too  are  warped  and  prejudiced  by  the  provin- 
cial instructions  they  have  arbitrarily  and  without  right  is- 
sued forth.  They  are  again  improper  because  the  enquiry 
would  necessarily  extend  to  them  as  a  body,  to  see  how  far  it 
is  proper  to  trust  men  with  such  unlimited  power  as  they 
have  lately  assumed.  In  times  like  these,  we  must  trace  to 
the  root  and  origin  of  things ;  It  being  the  only  way  to  be- 
come right,  when  we  are  got  systematically  wrong.  The 
motion  for  a  Convention  alarmed  the  crown  and  proprietary 
dependants  ; '  but,  to  every  man  of  reflexion,  it  had  a  cordial 
and  restorative  quality.  The  case  is,  first,  we  are  got  wrong — 
Secondly,  how  shall  we  get  right  ?  Not  by  a  House  of 
Assembly  ;  because  tJiey  cannot  sit  as  Judges,  in  a  case,  where 
their  own  existence  under  their  present  form  and  authority  is 
to  be  judged  of.  However,  the  objectors  found  out  a  way, 
as  they  thought,  to  supercede  the  necessity  of  a  Convention, 
by  promoting  a  bill  for  augmenting  the  number  of  repre- 
sentatives ;  not  perceiving  at  the  same  time  that  such  an 
augmentation  would  encrease  the  necessity  of  a  Convention  ; 
because,  the  more  any  power  is  augmented,  which  derives 
it's  authority  from  our  enemies,  the  more  unsafe  and  danger- 
ous it  becomes  to  us.  Far  be  it  from  the  writer  of  this  to 
censure  the  individuals  which  compose  that  House  ;  his  aim 
being  only  against  the  chartered  authority  under  which  it 
acts.  However,  the  bill  passed  into  a  law,  (which  shews, 
that  in  Pennsylvania,  as  well  as  in  England,  there  is  no  con- 
stitution, but  only  a  temporary  form  of  government.*')  While, 

'  Opponents  of  American  Independence. — Editor. 

*  This  distinction  -will  be  more  fully  explained  in  some  future  letter. — A  uthor. 


158  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


in  order  to  show  the  inconsistency  of  the  House  in  its  pres- 
ent state,  the  motion  for  a  convention  was  postponed,  and 
four  conscientious  independent  gentlemen  were  proposed 
as  candidates,  on  the  augmentation,  who,  had  they  been 
elected  would  not  have  taken  the  oaths  necessary  to  admit 
a  person  as  member  of  that  Assembly.  And  in  that  case, 
the  house  would  have  had  neither  one  kind  of  authority  or 
another,  while  the  old  part  remained  sworn  to  divulge  to 
the  King  what  the  new  part  thought  it  their  duty  to  declare 
against  him.  Thus  matters  stood  on  the  morning  of 
election. 

On  our  side  we  had  to  sustain  the  loss  of  those  good 
citizens  who  are  now  before  the  walls  of  Quebec,  and  other 
parts  of  the  continent ;  while  the  tories  by  never  stirring  out 
remain  at  home  to  take  the  advantage  of  elections  ;  and  this 
evil  prevails  more  or  less  from  the  Congress  down  to  the 
Committees.  A  numerous  body  of  Germans  of  property, 
zealots  in  the  cause  of  freedom,  were  likewise  excluded  for 
non-allegiance.  Notwithstanding  which,  the  tory  non-con- 
formists, that  is  those  who  are  advertised  as  enemies  to  their 
country,  were  admitted  to  vote  on  the  other  side.  A  strange 
contradiction  indeed  !  To  which  were  added  the  testimon- 
izing  Quakers,  who,  after  suffering  themselves  to  be  duped 
by  the  meanest  of  all  passions,  religious  spleen,  endeavour 
in  a  vague  uncharitable  manner  to  possess  the  Roman 
Catholics  of  the  same  disease.  These  parties,  with  such 
others  as  they  could  influence,  were  headed  by  the  proprie- 
tary dependants  to  support  the  British  and  Proprietary 
power  against  the  public.  They  had  pompously  given  out 
that  nine  tenths  of  the  people  were  on  their  side.  A  vast 
majority  truly !  But  it  so  happened  that,  notwithstanding 
the  disadvantages  we  laid  under  of  having  many  of  our 
votes  rejected,  others  disqualified  for  non-allegiance,  with 
the  great  loss  sustained  by  absentees,  the  manoeuvre  of  shut- 
ting up  the  doors  between  seven  and  eight  o'clock,  and  cir- 
culating the  report  of  adjourning,  and  finishing  the  next 
morning,  by  which  several  were  deceived, — it  so  happened, 
I  say,  that  on  casting  up  the  tickets,  the  first  in  numbers  on 


1776]  THE  FORESTER'S  LETTERS.  1 59 


the  dependant  side,  and  the  first  on  the  independant  side, 
viz.  Clymer  and  Allen,  were  a  tye :  923  each.* 

To  the  description  which  I  have  already  given  of  those 
who  are  against  us,  I  may  add,  that  they  have  neither  asso- 
ciated nor  assisted,  or  but  very  few  of  them  ;  that  they  are  a 
collection  of  different  bodies  blended  by  accident,  having  no 
natural  relation  to  each  other ;  that  they  have  agreed  rather 
out  of  spite  than  right ;  and  that,  as  they  met  by  chance, 
they  will  dissolve  away  again  for  the  want  of  a  cement. 

On  our  side,  our  object  was  single,  our  cause  was  one ; 
wherefore,  we  cannot  separate,  neither  ivill  v/q  separate.  We 
have  stood  the  experiment  of  the  election,  for  the  sake  of 
knowing  the  men  who  were  against  us.  Alas,  what  are  they  ? 
One  half  of  them  ought  to  be  now  asking  public  pardon  for 
their  former  offences  ;  and  the  other  half  may  think  them- 
selves well  off  that  they  are  let  alone.  When  the  enemy 
enters  the  country,  can  they  defend  themselves?  Or  will 
they  defend  themselves  ?  And  if  not,  are  they  so  foolish  as 
to  think  that,  in  times  like  these,  when  it  is  our  duty  to 
search  the  corrupted  wound  to  the  bottom,  that  we,  with  ten 
times  their  strength  and  number  (if  the  question  were  put 
to  the  people  at  large)  will  submit  to  be  governed  by  cowards 
and  tories  ? 

He  that  is  wise  will  reflect,  that  the  safest  asylum,  es- 
pecially in  times  of  general  convulsion  when  no  settled  form 
of  government  prevails,  is,  the  love  of  the  people.  All  prop- 
erty is  safe  under  their  protection.  Even  in  countries 
where  the  lowest  and  most  licentious  of  them  have  risen  into 
outrage  they  have  never  departed  from  the  path  of  natural 
honor.  Volunteers  unto  death  in  defence  of  the  person  or 
fortune  of  those  who  had  served  or  defended  them,  division 
of  property  never  entered  the  mind  of  the  populace.  It  is 
incompatible  with  that  spirit  which  impels  them  into  action. 
An  avaricious  mob  was  never  heard  of ;  nay,  even  a  miser 
pausing  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  catching  their  spirit, 
would  from  that  instant  cease  to  be  covetous. 

*  Mr.  Samuel  Howell,  though  in  their  ticket,  was  never  considered  by  us  a 
proprietary  dependant. — Author. 


i6o 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


I  shall  conclude  this  letter  with  remarking,  that  the  Eng- 
lish fleet  and  army  have  of  late  gone  upon  a  different  plan 
of  operation  to  what  they  first  set  out  with  ;  for  instead  of 
going  against  those  Colonies  where  independence  prevails 
most,  they  go  against  tJwse  only  where  they  suppose  it  pre- 
vails least.  They  have  quitted  Massachusetts-Bay  and  gone 
to  North-Carolina,  supposing  they  had  many  friends  there. 
Why  are  they  expected  at  New-York  ?  But  because  they 
imagine  the  inhabitants  are  7iot  generally  independents,  (yet 
that  province  hath  a  large  share  of  virtue,  notwithstanding 
the  odium  which  its  House  of  Assembly  brought  upon  it.) 
From  which  I  argue  that  the  electing  the  King's  Attorney 
for  a  Burgess  of  this  city,  is  a  fair  invitation  for  them  to 
come  here  ;  and  in  that  case,  will  those  who  have  invited 
them  turn  out  to  repulse  them  ?  I  suppose  not,  for  in  their 
923  votes  there  will  not  be  found  more  than  sixty  armed 
men,  perhaps  not  so  many.  Wherefore,  should  such  an 
event  happen,  which  probably  will,  I  here  give  my  first  vote 
to  levy  the  expence  attending  the  expedition  against  them, 
on  the  estates  of  those  who  have  invited  them. 

The  Forester. 


XVIII. 


A  DIALOGUE' 

Between  the  GHOST  of  General  MONTGOMERY  just  arrived 
fom  the  Elysian  Fields  ;  and  an  American  DELEGATE,  in  a 
wood  near  Philadelphia. 

Delegate.  Welcome  to  this  retreat,  my  good  friend.  If  I 
mistake  not,  I  now  see  the  ghost  of  the  brave  General 
Montgomery. 

General  Montgomery.  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  I  still  love 
liberty  and  America,  and  the  contemplation  of  the  future 
greatness  of  this  Continent  now  forms  a  large  share  of  my 
present  happiness.  I  am  here  upon  an  important  errand,  to 
warn  you  against  listening  to  terms  of  accommodation  from 
the  court  of  Britain. 

Del.  I  shall  be  happy  in  receiving  instruction  from  you 
in  the  present  trying  exigency  of  our  public  affairs.  But 
suppose  the  terms  you  speak  of  should  be  just  and  honor- 
able? 

Gen.  Mont.  How  can  you  expect  these,  after  the  King 
has  proclaimed  you  rebels  from  the  throne,  and  after  both 
houses  of  parliament  have  resolved  to  support  him  in  carry- 
ing on  a  war  against  you  ?  No,  I  see  no  offers  from  Great 
Britain  but  of  Pardon.  The  very  word  is  an  insult  upon 
our  cause.  To  whom  is  pardon  offered  ? — to  virtuous  free- 
men. For  what  ? — for  flying  to  arms  in  defence  of  the  rights 
of  humanity  :  And  from  whom  do  these  offers  come  ? — 
From  a  Royal  Criminal.    You  have  furnished  me  with  a 

'  Printed  in  pamphlet  form  about  the  time  of  the  appointment  by  Congress 
of  a  Committee  to  draft  a  Declaration  of  Independence. — Editor. 

VOL.  I. — II 

i6i 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


new  reason  for  triumphing  in  my  death,  for  I  had  rather 
have  it  said  that  I  died  by  his  vengeance,  than  Hvcd  by  his 
mercy. 

Del.  But  you  think  nothing  of  the  destructive  conse- 
quences of  war.  How  many  cities  must  be  reduced  to 
ashes !  how  many  famihes  must  be  ruined !  and  how  many 
widows  and  orphans  must  be  made,  should  the  present  war 
be  continued  any  longer  with  Great  Britain. 

Gen.  Mont.  I  think  of  nothing  but  the  destructive  conse- 
quences of  slavery.  The  calamities  of  war  are  transitory 
and  confined  in  their  effects.  But  the  calamities  of  slavery 
are  extensive  and  lasting  in  their  operation.  I  love  man- 
kind as  well  as  you,  and  I  could  never  restrain  a  tear  when 
my  love  of  justice  has  obliged  me  to  shed  the  blood  of  a 
fellow  creature.  It  is  my  humanity  that  makes  me  urge  you 
against  a  reconciliation  with  Great  Britain,  for  if  this  takes 
place,  nothing  can  prevent  the  American  Colonies  from 
being  the  seat  of  war  as  often  as  the  King  of  Great  Britain 
renews  his  quarrels  with  any  of  the  Colonies,  or  with  any  of 
the  belligerent  powers  of  Europe. 

Del.  I  tremble  at  the  doctrine  you  have  advanced.  I 
see  you  are  for  the  independence  of  the  Colonies  on  Great 
Britain. 

Gen.  Mont.  I  am  for  permanent  liberty,  peace,  and 
security  to  the  American  Colonies. 

Del.  These  can  only  be  maintained  by  placing  the 
Colonies  in  the  situation  they  were  in  the  year  1763. 

Gen.  Mont.  And  is  no  satisfaction  to  be  made  to  the 
Colonies  for  the  blood  and  treasure  they  have  expended  in 
resisting  the  arms  of  Great  Britain  ?  Who  can  soften  the 
prejudices  of  the  King — the  parliament — and  the  nation, 
each  of  whom  will  be  averse  to  maintain  a  peace  with  you  in 
proportion  to  the  advantages  you  have  gained  over  them? 
Who  shall  make  restitution  to  the  widows — the  mothers — 
and  the  children  of  the  men  who  have  been  slain  by  their 
arms?  Can  no  hand  wield  the  sceptre  of  government  in 
America  except  that  which  has  been  stained  with  the  blood 
of  your  countrymen  ?    For  my  part  if  I  thought  this  Conti- 


1776] 


A  DIALOGUE. 


nent  would  ever  acknowledge  the  sovereignty  of  the  Crown 
of  Britain  again,  I  should  forever  lament  the  day  in  which  I 
offered  up  my  life  for  its  salvation. 

Del.  You  should  distinguish  between  the  King  and  his 
ministers. 

Gen.  Mont.  I  live  in  a  world  where  all  political  supersti- 
tion is  done  away.  The  King  is  the  author  of  all  the  meas- 
ures carried  on  against  America.  The  influence  of  bad 
ministers  is  no  better  apology  for  these  measures,  than  the 
influences  of  bad  company  is  for  a  murderer,  who  expiates 
his  crimes  under  a  gallows.  You  all  complain  of  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  parliament,  and  of  the  venality  of  the  nation,  and 
yet  you  forget  that  the  Crown  is  the  source  of  them  both. 
You  shun  the  streams,  and  yet  you  are  willing  to  sit  down 
at  the  very  fountain  of  corruption  and  venality. 

Del.  Our  distance  and  charters  will  protect  us  from  the 
influence  of  the  crown. 

Gen.  Mont.  Your  distance  will  only  render  your  danger  more 
imminent,  and  your  ruin  more  irretrievable.  Charters  are 
no  restraints  against  the  lust  of  power.  The  only  reason  why 
you  have  escaped  so  long  is,  because  the  treasure  of  the 
nation  has  been  employed  for  these  fifty  years  in  buying  up 
the  virtue  of  Britain  and  Ireland.  Hereafter  the  reduction  of 
the  representatives  of  the  people  of  America  will  be  the  only 
aim  of  administration  should  you  continue  to  be  connected 
with  them. 

Del.  But  I  foresee  many  evils  from  the  independence  of 
the  Colonies.  Our  trade  will  be  ruined  from  the  want  of  a 
navy  to  protect  it.  Each  Colony  will  put  in  its  claim  for 
superiority,  and  we  shall  have  domestic  wars  without  end. 

Gen.  Mont.  As  I  now  know  that  Divine  Providence  in- 
tends this  country  to  be  the  asylum  of  persecuted  virtue 
from  every  quarter  of  the  globe,  so  I  think  your  trade 
will  be  the  vehicle  that  will  convey  it  to  you.  Heaven  has 
furnished  you  with  greater  resources  for  a  navy  than  any 
nation  in  the  world.  Nothing  but  an  ignorance  of  your 
strength  could  have  led  you  to  sacrifice  your  trade  for  the 
protection  of  a  foreign  navy.    A  freedom  from  the  restraints 


164  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


of  the  acts  of  navigation  I  foresee  will  produce  such  immense 
additions  to  the  wealth  of  this  country  that  posterity  will 
wonder  that  ever  you  thought  your  present  trade  worth  its 
protection.  As  to  the  supposed  contentions  between  sister 
colonies,  they  have  no  foundation  in  truth.  But  supposing 
they  have,  will  delaying  the  independance  of  the  Colonies 
50  years  prevent  them  ?  No — the  weakness  of  the  Colonies, 
which  at  first  produced  their  union,  will  always  preserve  it, 
'till  it  shall  be  their  interest  to  be  separated.  Had  the  Colony 
of  Massachuset's-bay  been  possessed  of  the  military  resources 
which  it  would  probably  have  had  50  years  hence,  would  she 
have  held  out  the  signal  of  distress  to  her  sister  colonies, 
upon  the  news  of  the  Boston  port-bill !  No — she  would 
have  withstood  all  the  power  of  Britain  alone,  and  afterwards 
the  neutral  colonies  might  have  shared  the  fate  of  the 
colony  of  Canada.  Moreover,  had  the  connection  with 
Great-Britain  been  continued  50  years  longer,  the  progress  of 
British  laws,  customs  and  manners  (now  totally  corrupted) 
would  have  been  such  that  the  Colonies  would  have  been 
prepared  to  welcome  slavery.  But  had  it  been  otherwise, 
they  must  have  asserted  their  independance  with  arms. 
This  is  nearly  done  already.  It  will  be  cruel  to  bequeath 
another  contest  to  your  posterity. 

Del.  But  I  dread  all  innovations  in  governments.  They 
are  very  dangerous  things. 

Gen.  Mont.  The  revolution,  which  gave  a  temporary 
stability  to  the  liberties  of  Britain,  was  an  innovation  in 
government,  and  yet  no  ill  consequences  have  arisen  from 
it.  Innovations  are  dangerous  only  as  they  shake  the  preju- 
dices of  a  people ;  but  there  are  now,  I  believe,  but  few 
prejudices  to  be  found  in  this  country,  in  favor  of  the  old 
connection  with  Great-Britain.  I  except  those  men  only 
who  are  under  the  influence  of  their  passions  and  offices. 

Del.  But  is  it  not  most  natural  for  us  to  wish  for  a  con- 
nection with  a  people  who  speak  the  same  language  with  us, 
and  possess  the  same  laws,  religion,  and  forms  of  government 
with  ourselves. 

Gen.  Mont.    The  immortal  Montesquieu  says,  that  nations 


A  DIALOGUE. 


should  form  alliances  with  those  nations  only  which  are  as 
unlike  to  themselves  as  possible  in  religion,  laws  and  man- 
ners, if  they  mean  to  preserve  their  own  constitutions.  Your 
dependance  upon  the  crown  is  no  advantage,  but  rather  an 
injury  to  the  people  of  Britain,  as  it  increases  the  power  and 
influence  of  the  King.  The  people  are  benefited  only  by 
your  trade,  and  this  they  may  have  after  you  are  indepen- 
dant  of  the  crown.  Should  you  be  disposed  to  forgive  the 
King  and  the  nation  for  attempting  to  enslave  you,  they 
will  never  forgive  you  for  having  baffled  them  in  the 
attempt. 

Del.  But  we  have  many  friends  in  both  Houses  of 
Parliament. 

Gen.  Mont.  You  mean  the  ministry  have  many  enemies 
in  Parliament  who  connect  the  cause  of  America  with  their 
clamours  at  the  door  of  administration.  Lord  Chatham's 
conciliatory  bill  would  have  ruined  you  more  effectually  than 
Lord  North's  motion.  The  Marquis  of  Rockingham  was 
the  author  of  the  declaratory  bill.'  Mr.  Wilkes  has  added 
infamy  to  the  weakness  of  your  cause,  and  the  Duke  of 
Grafton  and  Lord  Lyttleton  have  rendered  the  minority 
junto,  if  possible,  more  contemptible  than  ever. 

Del.  But  if  we  become  independant  we  shall  become  a 
commonwealth. 

Gen.  Mont.  I  maintain  that  it  is  your  interest  to  be  inde- 
pendant of  Great  Britain,  but  I  do  not  recommend  any  new 
form  of  government  to  you.  I  should  think  it  strange  that 
a  people  who  have  virtue  enough  to  defend  themselves 
against  the  most  powerful  nation  in  the  world  should  want 
wisdom  to  contrive  a  perfect  and  free  form  of  government. 
You  have  been  kept  in  subjection  to  the  crown  of  Britain  by 
a  miracle.    Your  liberties  have  hitherto  been  suspended  by  a 

'  The  Act  of  February,  1766,  declaratory  of  the  right  of  Parliament  "  to 
bind  America  in  all  cases  whatsoever."  In  a  letter  of  George  III.  to  Lord 
North  (February  5,  1778)  he  remarks  that  Lord  George  Germaine  "said  this 
day  unto  me  that  the  Declaratory  Act,  though  but  waste  paper,  was  what  galled 
them  (the  Americans)  most."  (Donne,  ii.  p.  131.)  It  was  indeed  the  costliest 
bit  of  waste  paper  known  to  history. — Editor. 


l66  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


thread.  Your  connection  with  Great-Britain  is  unnatural 
and  unnecessary.  All  the  wheels  of  a  government  should 
move  within  itself.  I  would  only  beg  leave  to  observe  to 
you,  that  monarchy  and  aristocracy  have  in  all  ages  been  the 
vehicles  of  slavery. 

Del.  Our  governments  will  want  force  and  authority  if 
we  become  independant  of  Great-Britain. 

Gen.  Mont.  I  beg  leave  to  contradict  that  assertion.  No 
royal  edicts  or  acts  of  assembly  have  ever  been  more  faith- 
fully or  universally  obeyed  than  the  resolves  of  the  Con- 
gress. I  admire  the  virtue  of  the  colonies,  and  did  not  some 
of  them  still  hang  upon  the  haggard  breasts  of  Great-Britain, 
I  should  think  the  time  now  come  in  which  they  had  virtue 
enough  to  be  happy  under  any  form  of  government.  Re- 
member that  it  is  in  a  commonwealth  only  that  you  can 
expect  to  find  every  man  a  patriot  or  a  hero.  Aristides, 
Epaminondas,  Pericles,  Scipio,  Camillus,  and  a  thousand 
other  illustrious  Grecian  and  Roman  heroes,  would  never 
have  astonished  the  world  with  their  names,  had  they  lived 
under  royal  governments. 

Del.  Will  not  a  declaration  of  independance  lessen  the 
number  of  our  friends,  and  increase  the  rage  of  our  enemies 
in  Britain  ? 

Gen.  Mont.  Your  friends  (as  you  call  them)  are  too  few — 
too  divided — and  too  interested  to  help  you.  And  as  for 
your  enemies,  they  have  done  their  worst.  They  have  called 
upon  Russians — Hanoverians — Hessians — Canadians — Sav- 
ages and  Negroes  to  assist  them  in  burning  your  towns — des- 
olating your  country — and  in  butchering  your  wives  and 
children.  You  have  nothing  further  to  fear  from  them.  Go, 
then,  and  awaken  the  Congress  to  a  sense  of  their  importance  ; 
you  have  no  time  to  lose.  France  waits  for  nothing  but  a 
declaration  of  your  independance  to  revenge  the  injuries 
they  sustained  from  Britain  in  the  last  war.  But  I  forbear  to 
reason  any  further  with  you.  The  decree  is  finally  gone  forth. 
Britain  and  America  are  now  distinct  empires.  Your  coun- 
try teems  with  patriots — heroes — and  legislators,  who  are 
impatient  to  burst  forth  into  light  and  importance.  Here- 


1776] 


A  DIALOGUE. 


167 


after  your  achievements  shall  no  more  swell  the  page  of 
British  history.  God  did  not  excite  the  attention  of  all 
Europe — of  the  whole  world — nay  of  angels  themselves  to 
the  present  controversy  for  nothing.  The  inhabitants  of 
Heaven  long  to  see  the  ark  finished,  in  which  all  the  liberty 
and  true  religion  of  the  world  are  to  be  deposited.  The  day 
in  which  the  Colonies  declare  their  independance  will  be  a 
jubilee  to  Hampden — Sidney — Russell — Warren — Gardiner 
— Macpherson — Cheeseman,  and  all  the  other  heroes  who 
have  offered  themselves  as  sacrifices  upon  the  altar  of  liberty. 
It  was  no  small  mortification  to  me  when  I  fell  upon  the  Plains 
of  Abraham,  to  reflect  that  I  did  not  expire  like  the  brave 
General  Wolfe,  in  the  arms  of  victory.  But  I  now  no  longer 
envy  him  his  glory,  I  would  rather  die  in  attemptmg  to  ob- 
tain permanent  freedom  for  a  handful  of  people,  than  survive 
a  conquest  which  would  serve  only  to  extend  the  empire  of 
despotism.  A  band  of  heroes  now  beckon  to  me.  I  can 
only  add  that  America  is  the  theatre  where  human  nature 
will  soon  receive  its  greatest  military,  civil,  and  literary 
honours. 


XIX. 

THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 
editor's  preface. 

Thomas  Paine,  in  his  Will,  speaks  of  this  work  as  The 
American  Crisis,  remembering  perhaps  that  a  number  of 
political  pamphlets  had  appeared  in  London,  1775-1776, 
under  general  title  of  "  The  Crisis."  By  the  blunder  of  an 
early  English  publisher  of  Paine's  writings,  one  essay  in 
the  London  "  Crisis  "  was  attributed  to  Paine,  and  the  error 
has  continued  to  cause  confusion.  This  publisher  was  D.  I. 
Eaton,  who  printed  as  the  first  number  of  Paine's  "  Crisis  " 
an  essay  taken  from  the  London  publication.  But  his  pref- 
atory note  says :  "  Since  the  printing  of  this  book,  the  pub- 
lisher is  informed  that  No.  i,  or  first  Crisis  in  this  publication, 
is  not  one  of  the  thirteen  which  Paine  wrote,  but  a  letter 
previous  to  them."  Unfortunately  this  correction  is  sufifi- 
ciently  equivocal  to  leave  on  some  minds  the  notion  that 
Paine  did  write  the  letter  in  question,  albeit  not  as  a  number 
of  his  "  Crisis  "  ;  especially  as  Eaton's  editor  unwarrantably 
appended  the  signature  "  C.  S.,"  suggesting  "  Common 
Sense."  There  are,  however,  no  such  letters  in  the  London 
essay,  which  is  signed  "  Casca."  It  was  published  August 
9,  1775,  in  the  form  of  a  letter  to  General  Gage,  in  answer  to 
his  Proclamation  concerning  the  affair  at  Lexington.  It  was 
certainly  not  written  by  Paine.  It  apologizes  for  the  Amer- 
icans for  having,  on  April  19,  at  Lexington,  made  "  an  attack 
upon  the  King's  troops  from  behind  walls  and  lurking 
holes."  The  writer  asks  :  "  Have  not  the  Americans  been 
driven  to  this  frenzy  ?  Is  it  not  common  for  an  enemy  to 
take  every  advantage  ?  "  Paine,  who  was  in  America  when 
the  affair  occurred  at  Lexington,  would  have  promptly  de- 

168 


1776] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


169 


nounced  Gage's  story  as  a  falsehood,  but  the  facts  known  to 
every  one  in  America  were  as  yet  not  before  the  London 
writer.  The  English  "  Crisis  "  bears  evidence  throughout  of 
having  been  written  in  London.  It  derived  nothing  from 
Paine,  and  he  derived  nothing  from  it,  unless  its  title,  and 
this  is  too  obvious  for  its  origin  to  require  discussion.  I 
have  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  title  was  suggested  by  the 
English  publication,  because  Paine  has  followed  its  scheme 
in  introducing  a  "Crisis  Extraordinary."  His  work  consists 
of  thirteen  numbers,  and,  in  addition  to  these,  a  "  Crisis 
Extraordinary"  and  a  "Supernumerary  Crisis."  In  some 
modern  collections  all  of  these  have  been  serially  numbered, 
and  a  brief  newspaper  article  added,  making  sixteen  numbers. 
But  Paine,  in  his  Will,  speaks  of  the  number  as  thirteen, 
wishing  perhaps,  in  his  characteristic  way,  to  adhere  to  the 
number  of  the  American  Colonies,  as  he  did  in  the  thirteen 
ribs  of  his  iron  bridge.  His  enumeration  is  therefore  followed 
in  the  present  volume,  and  the  numbers  printed  successively, 
although  other  writings  intervened. 

The  first  "  Crisis  "  was  printed  in  Xh^  Pennsylvania  Journal, 
December  19,  1776,  and  opens  with  the  famous  sentence, 
"  These  are  the  times  that  try  men's  souls " ;  the  last 
"  Crisis  "  appeared  April  19,  1783,  (eighth  anniversary  of  the 
first  gun  of  the  war,  at  Lexington,)  and  opens  with  the 
words,  "  The  times  that  tried  men's  souls  are  over."  The  great 
effect  produced  by  Paine's  successive  publications  has  been 
attested  by  Washington  and  Franklin,  by  every  leader  of  the 
American  Revolution,  by  resolutions  of  Congress,  and  by 
every  contemporary  historian  of  the  events  amid  which  they 
were  written.  The  first  "  Crisis  "  is  of  especial  historical  in- 
terest. It  was  written  during  the  retreat  of  Washington 
across  the  Delaware,  and  by  order  of  the  Commander  was 
read  to  groups  of  his  dispirited  and  suffering  soldiers.  Its 
opening  sentence  was  adopted  as  the  watchword  of  the 
movement  on  Trenton,  a  few  days  after  its  publication,  and 
is  believed  to  have  inspired  much  of  the  courage  which  won 
that  victory,  which,  though  not  imposing  in  extent,  was  of 
great  moral  effect  on  Washington's  little  army. 


THE  CRISIS. 


I. 

These  are  the  times  that  try  men's  souls.  The  summer 
soldier  and  the  sunshine  patriot  will,  in  this  crisis,  shrink 
from  the  service  of  their  country  ;  but  he  that  stands  it  noiv, 
deserves  the  love  and  thanks  of  man  and  woman.  Tyranny, 
like  hell,  is  not  easily  conquered  ;  yet  we  have  this  consola- 
tion with  us,  that  the  harder  the  conflict,  the  more  glorious 
the  triumph.  What  we  obtain  too  cheap,  we  esteem  too 
lightly :  it  is  dearness  only  that  gives  every  thing  its  value. 
Heaven  knows  how  to  put  a  proper  price  upon  its  goods  ; 
and  it  would  be  strange  indeed  if  so  celestial  an  article  as 
FREEDOM  should  not  be  highly  rated.  Britain,  with  an  army 
to  enforce  her  tyranny,  has  declared  that  she  has  a  right 
{not  only  to  tax)  but  "  to  BIND  us  in  all  cases  whatso- 
ever," and  if  being  bound  in  that  manner,  is  not  slavery, 
then  is  there  not  such  a  thing  as  slavery  upon  earth.  Even 
the  expression  is  impious;  for  so  unlimited  a  power  can 
belong  only  to  God. 

Whether  the  independence  of  the  continent  was  declared 
too  soon,  or  delayed  too  long,  I  will  not  now  enter  into  as 
an  argument  ;  my  own  simple  opinion  is,  that  had  it  been 
eight  months  earlier,  it  would  have  been  much  better.  We 
did  not  make  a  proper  use  of  last  winter,  neither  could  we, 
while  we  were  in  a  dependant  state.  However,  the  fault,  if 
it  were  one,  was  all  our  own  *  ;  we  have  none  to  blame  but 

*  The  present  winter  is  worth  an  age,  if  rightly  employed  ;  but,  if  lost  or 
neglected,  the  whole  continent  will  partake  of  the  evil  ;  and  there  is  no  punish- 
ment that  man  does  not  deserve,  be  he  who,  or  what,  or  where  he  will,  that 
may  be  the  means  of  sacrificing  a  season  so  precious  and  useful. — Author's 
note, — a  citation  from  his  "  Common  Sense." 

170 


1776] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


171 


ourselves.  But  no  great  deal  is  lost  yet.  All  that  Howe 
has  been  doing  for  this  month  past,  is  rather  a  ravage  than 
a  conquest,  which  the  spirit  of  the  Jerseys,  a  year  ago, 
would  have  quickly  repulsed,  and  which  time  and  a  little 
resolution  will  soon  recover. 

I  have  as  little  superstition  in  me  as  any  man  living,  but 
my  secret  opinion  has  ever  been,  and  still  is,  that  God 
Almighty  will  not  give  up  a  people  to  military  destruction, 
or  leave  them  unsupportedly  to  perish,  who  have  so  earnestly 
and  so  repeatedly  sought  to  avoid  the  calamities  of  war,  by 
every  decent  method  which  wisdom  could  invent.  Neither 
have  I  so  much  of  the  infidel  in  me,  as  to  suppose  that  He 
has  relinquished  the  government  of  the  world,  and  given  us 
up  to  the  care  of  devils ;  and  as  I  do  not,  I  cannot  see  on 
what  grounds  the  king  of  Britain  can  look  up  to  heaven  for 
help  against  us :  a  common  murderer,  a  highwayman,  or  a 
house-breaker,  has  as  good  a  pretence  as  he. 

'Tis  surprising  to  see  how  rapidly  a  panic  will  sometimes 
run  through  a  country.  All  nations  and  ages  have  been 
subject  to  them :  Britain  has  trembled  like  an  ague  at  the 
report  of  a  French  fleet  of  fiat  bottomed  boats  ;  and  in  the 
fourteenth  [fifteenth]  century  the  whole  English  army,  after 
ravaging  the  kingdom  of  France,  was  driven  back  like  men 
petrified  with  fear  ;  and  this  brave  exploit  was  performed  by 
a  few  broken  forces  collected  and  headed  by  a  woman,  Joan 
of  Arc.  Would  that  heaven  might  inspire  some  Jersey  maid 
to  spirit  up  her  countrymen,  and  save  her  fair  fellow  suffer- 
ers from  ravage  and  ravishment !  Yet  panics,  in  some  cases, 
have  their  uses  ;  they  produce  as  much  good  as  hurt.  Their 
duration  is  always  short ;  the  mind  soon  grows  through 
them,  and  acquires  a  firmer  habit  than  before.  But  their 
peculiar  advantage  is,  that  they  are  the  touchstones  of 
sincerity  and  hypocrisy,  and  bring  things  and  men  to  light, 
which  might  otherwise  have  lain  forever  undiscovered.  In 
fact,  they  have  the  same  effect  on  secret  traitors,  which  an 
imaginary  apparition  would  have  upon  a  private  murderer. 
They  sift  out  the  hidden  thoughts  of  man,  and  hold  them 
up  in  public  to  the  world.    Many  a  disguised  tory  has  lately 


172  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


shown  his  head,  that  shall  penitentially  solemnize  with 
curses  the  day  on  which  Howe  arrived  upon  the  Delaware. 

As  I  was  with  the  troops  at  Fort  Lee,  and  marched  with 
them  to  the  edge  of  Pennsylvania,  I  am  well  acquainted 
with  many  circumstances,  which  those  who  live  at  a  distance 
know  but  little  or  nothing  of.  Our  situation  there  was 
exceedingly  cramped,  the  place  being  a  narrow  neck  of  land 
between  the  North  River  and  the  Hackensack.  Our  force 
was  inconsiderable,  being  not  one  fourth  so  great  as  Howe 
could  bring  against  us.  We  had  no  army  at  hand  to  have 
relieved  the  garrison,  had  we  shut  ourselves  up  and  stood 
on  our  defence.  Our  ammunition,  light  artillery,  and  the 
best  part  of  our  stores,  had  been  removed,  on  the  apprehen- 
sion that  Howe  would  endeavor  to  penetrate  the  Jerseys,  in 
which  case  fort  Lee  could  be  of  no  use  to  us  ;  for  it  must 
occur  to  every  thinking  man,  whether  in  the  army  or  not, 
that  these  kind  of  field  forts  are  only  for  temporary  pur- 
poses, and  last  in  use  no  longer  than  the  enemy  directs  his 
force  against  the  particular  object,  which  such  forts  are  raised 
to  defend.  Such  was  our  situation  and  condition  at  fort  Lee 
on  the  morning  of  the  20th  of  November,  when  an  officer 
arrived  with  information  that  the  enemy  with  200  boats  had 
landed  about  seven  miles  above  :  Major  General  [Nathaniel] 
Green,  who  commanded  the  garrison,  immediately  ordered 
them  under  arms,  and  sent  express  to  General  Washington 
at  the  town  of  Hackensack,  distant  by  the  way  of  the  ferry 
=  six  miles.  Our  first  object  was  to  secure  the  bridge  over 
the  Hackensack,  which  laid  up  the  river  between  the  enemy 
and  us,  about  six  miles  from  us,  and  three  from  them.  Gen- 
eral Washington  arrived  in  about  three  quarters  of  an  hour, 
and  marched  at  the  head  of  the  troops  towards  the  bridge, 
which  place  I  expected  we  should  have  a  brush  for;  how- 
ever, they  did  not  choose  to  dispute  it  with  us,  and  the 
greatest  part  of  our  troops  went  over  the  bridge,  the  rest 
over  the  ferry,  except  some  which  passed  at  a  mill  on  a 
small  creek,  between  the  bridge  and  the  ferry,  and  made 
their  way  through  some  marshy  grounds  up  to  the  town  of 
Hackensack,  and  there  passed  the  river.    We  brought  off  as 


1776]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  1 73 


much  baggage  as  the  wagons  could  contain,  the  rest  was 
lost.  The  simple  object  was  to  bring  off  the  garrison,  and 
march  them  on  till  they  could  be  strengthened  by  the  Jersey 
or  Pennsylvania  militia,  so  as  to  be  enabled  to  make  a  stand. 
We  staid  four  days  at  Newark,  collected  our  out-posts  with 
some  of  the  Jersey  militia,  and  marched  out  twice  to  meet 
the  enemy,  on  being  informed  that  they  were  advancing, 
though  our  numbers  were  greatly  inferior  to  theirs.  Howe, 
in  my  Httle  opinion,  committed  a  great  error  in  generalship 
in  not  throwing  a  body  of  forces  off  from  Staten  Island 
through  Amboy,  by  which  means  he  might  have  seized  all 
our  stores  at  Brunswick,  and  intercepted  our  march  into 
Pennsylvania  ;  but  if  we  believe  the  power  of  hell  to  be 
limited,  we  must  likewise  believe  that  their  agents  are  under 
some  providential  controul. 

I  shall  not  now  attempt  to  give  all  the  particulars  of  our 
retreat  to  the  Delaware  ;  suffice  it  for  the  present  to  say, 
that  both  officers  and  men,  though  greatly  harassed  and 
fatigued,  frequently  without  rest,  covering,  or  provision,  the 
inevitable  consequences  of  a  long  retreat,  bore  it  with  a 
manly  and  martial  spirit.  All  their  wishes  centred  in  one, 
which  was,  that  the  country  would  turn  out  and  help  them 
to  drive  the  enemy  back.  Voltaire  has  remarked  that  king 
William  never  appeared  to  full  advantage  but  in  difficulties 
and  in  action ;  the  same  remark  may  be  made  on  General 
Washington,  for  the  character  fits  him.  There  is  a  natural 
firmness  in  some  minds  which  cannot  be  unlocked  by  trifles, 
but  which,  when  unlocked,  discovers  a  cabinet  of  fortitude ; 
and  I  reckon  it  among  those  kind  of  public  blessings,  which 
we  do  not  immediately  see,  that  God  hath  blessed  him  with 
uninterrupted  health,  and  given  him  a  mind  that  can  even 
flourish  upon  care. 

I  shall  conclude  this  paper  with  some  miscellaneous  re- 
marks on  the  state  of  our  affairs ;  and  shall  begin  with  ask- 
ing the  following  question,  Why  is  it  that  the  enemy  have 
left  the  New-England  provinces,  and  made  these  middle  ones 
the  seat  of  war?  The  answer  is  easy  :  New-England  is  not 
infested  with  tories,  and  we  are.    I  have  been  tender  in 


174 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1776 


raising  the  cry  against  these  men,  and  used  numberless 
arguments  to  show  them  their  danger,  but  it  will  not  do  to 
sacrifice  a  world  either  to  their  folly  or  their  baseness.  The 
period  is  now  arrived,  in  which  either  they  or  we  must  change 
our  sentiments,  or  one  or  both  must  fall.  And  what  is  a 
tory  ?  Good  God  !  what  is  he  ?  I  should  not  be  afraid  to 
go  with  a  hundred  whigs  against  a  thousand  tories,  were 
they  to  attempt  to  get  into  arms.  Every  tory  is  a  coward  ; 
for  servile,  slavish,  self-interested  fear  is  the  foundation  of 
toryism  ;  and  a  man  under  such  influence,  though  he  may  be 
cruel,  never  can  be  brave. 

But,  before  the  line  of  irrecoverable  separation  be  drawn 
between  us,  let  us  reason  the  matter  together :  Your  con- 
duct is  an  invitation  to  the  enemy,  yet  not  one  in  a  thousand 
of  you  has  heart  enough  to  join  him.  Howe  is  as  much  de- 
ceived by  you  as  the  American  cause  is  injured  by  you.  He 
expects  you  will  all  take  up  arms,  and  flock  to  his  standard, 
with  muskets  on  your  shoulders.  Your  opinions  are  of  no 
use  to  him,  unless  you  support  him  personally,  for  'tis  sol- 
diers, and  not  tories,  that  he  wants. 

I  once  felt  all  that  kind  of  anger,  which  a  man  ought  to 
feel,  against  the  mean  principles  that  are  held  by  the  tories: 
a  noted  one,  who  kept  a  tavern  at  Amboy, '  was  standing  at 
his  door,  with  as  pretty  a  child  in  his  hand,  about  eight  or 
nine  years  old,  as  I  ever  saw,  and  after  speaking  his  mind 
as  freely  as  he  thought  was  prudent,  finished  with  this  un- 
fatherly  expression,  "  Well !  give  me  peace  in  rtiy  day.''  Not 
a  man  lives  on  the  continent  but  fully  believes  that  a  separa- 
tion must  some  time  or  other  finally  take  place,  and  a  gen- 
erous parent  should  have  said,  If  there  must  be  trouble,  let 
it  be  in  my  day,  that  my  child  may  have  peace  ;  "  and  this 
single  reflection,  well  applied,  is  sufficient  to  awaken  every 
man  to  duty.  Not  a  place  upon  earth  might  be  so  happy 
as  America.  Her  situation  is  remote  from  all  the  wrangling 
world,  and  she  has  nothing  to  do  but  to  trade  with  them.  A 

'  Early  in  August,  1776,  Paine  enlisted  in  a  Pennsylvania  division  of  the 
Flying  Camp,  under  Gen.  Roberdeau,  and  was  first  stationed  at  Amboy,  New 
J  ersey .  — Editor. 


1776] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


man  can  distinguish  himself  between  temper  and  principle, 
and  I  am  as  confident,  as  I  am  that  God  governs  the  world, 
that  America  will  never  be  happy  till  she  gets  clear  of  foreign 
dominion.  Wars,  without  ceasing,  will  break  out  till  that 
period  arrives,  and  the  continent  must  in  the  end  be  con- 
queror ;  for  though  the  flame  of  liberty  may  sometimes  cease 
to  shine,  the  coal  can  never  expire. 

America  did  not,  nor  does  not  want  force  ;  but  she  wanted 
a  proper  application  of  that  force.  Wisdom  is  not  the  pur- 
chase of  a  day,  and  it  is  no  wonder  that  we  should  err  at 
the  first  setting  off.  From  an  excess  of  tenderness,  we  were 
unwilling  to  raise  an  army,  and  trusted  our  cause  to  the 
temporary  defence  of  a  well-meaning  militia.  A  summer's 
experience  has  now  taught  us  better  ;  yet  with  those  troops, 
while  they  were  collected,  we  were  able  to  set  bounds  to  the 
progress  of  the  enemy,  and,  thank  God !  they  are  again 
assembling.  I  always  considered  militia  as  the  best  troops 
in  the  world  for  a  sudden  exertion,  but  they  will  not  do  for 
a  long  campaign.  Howe,  it  is  probable,  will  make  an  attempt 
on  this  city  ; '  should  he  fail  on  this  side  the  Delaware,  he  is 
ruined  :  if  he  succeeds,  our  cause  is  not  ruined.  He  stakes 
all  on  his  side  against  a  part  on  ours  ;  admitting  he  succeeds, 
the  consequence  will  be,  that  armies  from  both  ends  of  the 
continent  will  march  to  assist  their  suffering  friends  in  the 
middle  states  ;  for  he  cannot  go  everywhere,  it  is  impossible. 
I  consider  Howe  as  the  greatest  enemy  the  tories  have ; 
he  is  bringing  a  war  into  their  country,  which,  had  it  not 
been  for  him  and  partly  for  themselves,  they  had  been  clear 
of.  Should  he  now  be  expelled,  I  wish  with  all  the  devotion 
of  a  Christian,  that  the  names  of  whig  and  tory  may  never 
more  be  mentioned  ;  but  should  the  tories  give  him  en- 
couragement to  come,  or  assistance  if  he  come,  I  as  sincerely 
wish  that  our  next  year's  arms  may  expel  them  from  the 
continent,  and  the  congress  appropriate  their  possessions  to 
the  relief  of  those  who  have  suffered  in  well-doing.  A  single 
successful  battle  next  year  will  settle  the  whole.  America 

'  Philadelphia,  whither  Paine  had  gone  to  publish  this  first  "  Crisis." — 
Editor. 


176  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


could  carry  on  a  two  years  war  by  the  confiscation  of  the 
property  of  disaffected  persons,  and  be  made  happy  by  their 
expulsion.  Say  not  that  this  is  revenge,  call  it  rather  the 
soft  resentment  of  a  suffering  people,  who,  having  no  object 
in  view  but  the  good  of  all,  have  staked  their  own  all  upon  a 
seemingly  doubtful  event.  Yet  it  is  folly  to  argue  against 
determined  hardness  ;  eloquence  may  strike  the  ear,  and 
the  language  of  sorrow  draw  forth  the  tear  of  compassion, 
but  nothing  can  reach  the  heart  that  is  steeled  with  preju- 
dice. 

Quitting  this  class  of  men,  I  turn  with  the  warm  ardor  of  a 
friend  to  those  who  have  nobly  stood,  and  are  yet  determined 
to  stand  the  matter  out :  I  call  not  upon  a  few,  but  upon  all: 
not  on  this  state  or  that  state,  but  on  every  state :  up  and 
help  us ;  lay  your  shoulders  to  the  wheel ;  better  have  too 
much  force  than  too  little,  when  so  great  an  object  is  at 
stake.  Let  it  be  told  to  the  future  world,  that  in  the  depth 
of  winter,  when  nothing  but  hope  and  virtue  could  survive, 
that  the  city  and  the  country,  alarmed  at  one  common  dan- 
ger, came  forth  to  meet  and  to  repulse  it.  Say  not  that 
thousands  are  gone,  turn  out  your  tens  of  thousands  ;  throw 
not  the  burden  of  the  day  upon  Providence,  but  "  show  your 
faith  by  your  zvorksj'  that  God  may  bless  you.  It  matters 
not  where  you  live,  or  what  rank  of  life  you  hold,  the  evil  or 
the  blessing  will  reach  you  all.  The  far  and  the  near,  the 
home  counties  and  the  back,  the  rich  and  the  poor,  will  suffer 
or  rejoice  alike.  The  heart  that  feels  not  now,  is  dead  :  the 
blood  of  his  children  will  curse  his  cowardice,  who  shrinks 
back  at  a  time  when  a  little  might  have  saved  the  whole, 
and  made  them  happy.  I  love  the  man  that  can  smile  in 
trouble,  that  can  gather  strength  from  distress,  and  grow 
brave  by  reflection.  'Tis  the  business  of  little  minds  to 
shrink ;  but  he  whose  heart  is  firm,  and  whose  conscience 
approves  his  conduct,  will  pursue  his  principles  unto  death. 
My  own  line  of  reasoning  is  to  myself  as  straight  and  clear 
as  a  ray  of  light.  Not  all  the  treasures  of  the  world,  so  far 
as  I  believe,  could  have  induced  me  to  support  an  offensive 
war,  for  I  think  it  murder  ;  but  if  a  thief  breaks  into  my 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


177 


house,  burns  and  destroys  my  property,  and  kills  or  threatens 
to  kill  me,  or  those  that  are  in  it,  and  to  "  bind  me  in  all  cases 
whatsoever''  '  to  his  absolute  will,  am  I  to  suffer  it?  What 
signifies  it  to  me,  whether  he  who  does  it  is  a  king  or  a 
common  man ;  my  countryman  or  not  my  countryman ; 
whether  it  be  done  by  an  individual  villain,  or  an  army  of 
them  ?  If  we  reason  to  the  root  of  things  we  shall  find  no 
difference;  neither  can  any  just  cause  be  assigned  why  we 
should  punish  in  the  one  case  and  pardon  in  the  other.  Let 
them  call  me  rebel,  and  welcome,  I  feel  no  concern  from  it ; 
but  I  should  suffer  the  misery  of  devils,  were  I  to  make  a 
whore  of  my  soul  by  swearing  allegiance  to  one  whose  char- 
acter is  that  of  a  sottish,  stupid,  stubborn,  worthless,  brutish 
man.  I  conceive  likewise  a  horrid  idea  in  receiving  mercy 
from  a  being,  who  at  the  last  day  shall  be  shrieking  to  the 
rocks  and  mountains  to  cover  him,  and  fleeing  with  terror 
from  the  orphan,  the  widow,  and  the  slain  of  America. 

There  are  cases  which  cannot  be  overdone  by  language, 
and  this  is  one.  There  are  persons,  too,  who  see  not  the 
full  extent  of  the  evil  which  threatens  them ;  they  solace 
themselves  with  hopes  that  the  enemy,  if  he  succeed,  will 
be  merciful.  It  is  the  madness  of  folly,  to  expect  mercy 
from  those  who  have  refused  to  do  justice  ;  and  even  mercy, 
where  conquest  is  the  object,  is  only  a  trick  of  war  ;  the  cun- 
ning of  the  fox  is  as  murderous  as  the  violence  of  the  wolf, 
and  we  ought  to  guard  equally  against  both.  Howe's  first 
object  is,  partly  by  threats  and  partly  by  promises,  to  terrify 
or  seduce  the  people  to  deliver  up  their  arms  and  receive 
mercy.  The  ministry  recommended  the  same  plan  to  Gage, 
and  this  is  what  the  tories  call  making  their  peace,  "  a  peace 
which  passeth  all  understanding"  indeed!  A  peace  which 
would  be  the  immediate  forerunner  of  a  worse  ruin  than  any 
we  have  yet  thought  of.  Yemen  of  Pennsylvania,  do  reason 
upon  these  things !  Were  the  back  counties  to  give  up 
their  arms,  they  would  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  Indians,  who 
are  all  armed  :  this  perhaps  is  what  some  tories  would  not 

I  '  From  the  Declaratory  Act  of  Parliament,  February  24,  1766,  concerning 

British  authority  over  the  American  Colonies.    See  post  p.  199. — Editor. 

VOL.  I. — 12 

I 


178  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776 


be  sorry  for.  Were  the  home  counties  to  deliver  up  their 
arms,  they  would  be  exposed  to  the  resentment  of  the  back 
counties,  who  would  then  have  it  in  their  power  to  chastise 
their  defection  at  pleasure.  And  were  any  one  state  to  give 
up  its  arms,  tJiat  state  must  be  garrisoned  by  all  Howe's  army 
of  Britons  and  Hessians  to  preserve  it  from  the  anger  of  the 
rest.  Mutual  fear  is  the  principal  link  in  the  chain  of  mutual 
love,  and  woe  be  to  that  state  that  breaks  the  compact. 
Howe  is  mercifully  inviting  you  to  barbarous  destruction, 
and  men  must  be  either  rogues  or  fools  that  will  not  see  it. 
I  dwell  not  upon  the  vapours  of  imagination  ;  I  bring  reason 
to  your  ears,  and,  in  language  as  plain  as  A,  B,  C,  hold  up 
truth  to  your  eyes. 

I  thank  God,  that  I  fear  not.  I  see  no  real  cause  for  fear. 
I  know  our  situation  well,  and  can  see  the  way  out  of  it. 
While  our  army  was  collected,  Howe  dared  not  risk  a  battle; 
and  it  is  no  credit  to  him  that  he  decamped  from  the  White 
Plains,  and  waited  a  mean  opportunity  to  ravage  the  de- 
fenceless Jerseys  ;  but  it  is  great  credit  to  us,  that,  with  a 
handful  of  men,  we  sustained  an  orderly  retreat  for  near  an 
hundred  miles,  brought  off  our  ammunition,  all  our  field 
pieces,  the  greatest  part  of  our  stores,  and  had  four  rivers  to 
pass.  None  can  say  that  our  retreat  was  precipitate,  for  we 
were  near  three  weeks  in  performing  it,  that  the  country 
might  have  time  to  come  in.  Twice  we  marched  back  to 
meet  the  enemy,  and  remained  out  till  dark.  The  sign  of 
fear  was  not  seen  in  our  camp,  and  had  not  some  of  the  cow- 
ardly and  disaffected  inhabitants  spread  false  alarms  through 
the  country,  the  Jerseys  had  never  been  ravaged.  Once 
more  we  are  again  collected  and  collecting  ;  our  new  army  at 
both  ends  of  the  continent  is  recruiting  fast,  and  we  shall  be 
able  to  open  the  next  campaign  with  sixty  thousand  men, 
well  armed  and  clothed.  This  is  our  situation,  and  who  will 
may  know  it.  By  perseverance  and  fortitude  we  have  the 
prospect  of  a  glorious  issue  ;  by  cowardice  and  submission, 
the  sad  choice  of  a  variety  of  evils — a  ravaged  country — a 
depopulated  city — habitations  without  safety,  and  slavery 
without  hope — our  homes  turned  into  barracks  and  bawdy- 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


179 


houses  for  Hessians,  and  a  future  race  to  provide  for,  whose 
fathers  we  shall  doubt  of.  Look  on  this  picture  and  weep 
over  it !  and  if  there  yet  remains  one  thoughtless  wretch  who 
believes  it  not,  let  him  suffer  it  unlamented. 

Common  Sense. 

December  23,  1776.' 


THE  CRISIS. 
II. 

TO  LORD  HOWE." 

"  What's  in  the  name  of  lord,  that  I  should  fear 
To  bring  my  grievance  to  the  public  ear  ?  " 

Churchill. 

Universal  empire  is  the  prerogative  of  a  writer.  His 
concerns  are  with  all  mankind,  and  though  he  cannot  com- 
mand their  obedience,  he  can  assign  them  their  duty.  The 
Republic  of  Letters  is  more  ancient  than  monarchy,  and  of 
far  higher  character  in  the  world  than  the  vassal  court  of 
Britain  ;  he  that  rebels  against  reason  is  a  real  rebel,  but  he 
that  in  defence  of  reason  rebels  against  tyranny,  has  a 
better  title  to  '■'■Defender  of  the  Faith,''  than  George  the 
third. 

As  a  military  man  your  lordship  may  hold  out  the  sword 
of  war,  and  call  it  the  "  ultima  ratio  regum :  "  the  last  reason 
of  Kings ;  we  in  return  can  show  you  the  sword  of  justice, 
and  call  it  "  the  best  scourge  of  tyrants."  The  first  of  these 
two  may  threaten,  or  even  frighten  for  a  while,  and  cast  a 
sickly  languor  over  an  insulted  people,  but  reason  will  soon 
recover  the  debauch,  and  restore  them  again  to  tranquil  for- 

'  This  was  the  date  of  the  pamphlet.  The  essay  had  appeared  on  December 
19  in  the  Pennsylvania  youmal. — Editor. 

Richard  Viscount  Howe  had  been  sent  with  a  view  to  negotiation  with  Con- 
gress. He  had  been  a  friend  of  Franklin  in  London,  and  it  was  supposed 
would  find  favor  in  America.  He  issued  a  Proclamation  from  H.  M.  S.  "  The 
Eagle,"  June  20,  another  from  New  York  Nov.  30,  1776. — Editor. 


l8o  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


titude.  Your  lordship,  I  find,  has  now  commenced  author, 
and  published  a  Proclamation  ;  I  have  published  a  Crisis  :  as 
they  stand,  they  are  the  antipodes  of  each  other  ;  both  can- 
not rise  at  once,  and  one  of  them  must  descend  ;  and  so  quick 
is  the  revolution  of  things,  that  your  lordship's  performance, 
I  see,  has  already  fallen  many  degrees  from  its  first  place, 
and  is  now  just  visible  on  the  edge  of  the  political  horizon. 

It  is  surprising  to  what  a  pitch  of  infatuation,  blind  folly 
and  obstinacy  will  carry  mankind,  and  your  lordship's  drowsy 
proclamation  is  a  proof  that  it  does  not  even  quit  them  in 
their  sleep.  Perhaps  you  thought  America  too  was  taking 
a  nap,  and  therefore  chose,  like  Satan  to  Eve,  to  whisper 
the  delusion  softly,  lest  you  should  awaken  her.  This  con- 
tinent, sir,  is  too  extensive  to  sleep  all  at  once,  and  too 
watchful,  even  in  its  slumbers,  not  to  startle  at  the  unhallowed 
foot  of  an  invader.  You  may  issue  your  proclamations,  and 
welcome,  for  we  have  learned  to  "  reverence  ourselves,"  and 
scorn  the  insulting  ruffian  that  employs  you.  America,  for 
your  deceased  brother's  sake,  would  gladly  have  shown  you 
respect,  and  it  is  a  new  aggravation  to  her  feelings,  that  Howe 
should  be  forgetful,  and  raise  his  sword  against  those,  who 
at  their  own  charge  raised  a  monument  to  his  brother.'  But 
your  master  has  commanded,  and  you  have  not  enough  of 
nature  left  to  refuse.  Surely  there  must  be  something 
strangely  degenerating  in  the  love  of  monarchy,  that  can  so 
completely  wear  a  man  down  to  an  ingrate,  and  make  him 
proud  to  lick  the  dust  that  kings  have  trod  upon.  A  few 
more  years,  should  you  survive  them,  will  bestow  on  you 
the  title  of  "  an  old  man  :  "  and  in  some  hour  of  future  re- 
flection you  may  probably  find  the  fitness  of  Wolsey's 
despairing  penitence — "  had  I  served  my  God  as  faithfully 
as  I  have  served  my  king,  he  would  not  thus  have  forsaken 
me  in  my  old  age." 

The  character  you  appear  to  us  in,  is  truly  ridiculous. 
Your  friends,  the  tories,  announced  your  coming,  with  high 
descriptions  of  your  unlimited  powers  ;  but  your  proclama- 
tion has  given  them  the  lie,  by  showing  you  to  be  a  com- 

'  George  Augustus  Howe.    See  Crisis  V.,  p.  233,  note. — Editor. 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


I8l 


missioner  without  authority.  Had  your  powers  been  ever 
so  great  they  were  nothing  to  us,  further  than  we  pleased ; 
because  we  had  the  same  right  which  other  nations  had,  to 
do  what  we  thought  was  best.  "  The  UNITED  STATES  of 
AMERICA,"  will  sound  as  pompously  in  the  world  or  in  his- 
tory, as  "  the  kingdom  of  Great  Britain  ;  "  the  character  of 
General  Washington  will  fill  a  page  with  as  much  lustre  as 
that  of  Lord  Howe:  and  the  congress  have  as  much  right  to 
command  the  king  and  parliament  in  London  to  desist  from 
legislation,  as  they  or  yoii  have  to  command  the  congress. 
Only  suppose  how  laughable  such  an  edict  would  appear 
from  us,  and  then,  in  that  merry  mood,  do  but  turn  the  tables 
upon  yourself,  and  you  will  see  how  your  proclamation  is 
received  here.  Having  thus  placed  you  in  a  proper  position 
in  which  you  may  have  a  full  view  of  your  folly,  and  learn  to 
despise  it,  I  hold  up  to  you,  for  that  purpose,  the  following 
quotation  from  your  own  lunarian  proclamation. — "  And  we 
(lord  Howe  and  general  Howe)  do  command  (and  in  his 
majesty's  name  forsooth)  all  such  persons  as  are  assembled 
together,  under  the  name  of  general  or  provincial  congresses, 
committees,  conventions  or  other  associations,  by  whatever 
name  or  names  known  and  distinguished,  to  desist  and  cease 
from  all  such  treasonable  actings  and  doings." 

You  introduce  your  proclamation  by  referring  to  your 
declarations  of  the  14th  of  July  and  19th  of  September.  In 
the  last  of  these  you  sunk  yourself  below  the  character  of  a 
private  gentleman.  That  I  may  not  seem  to  accuse  you  un- 
justly, I  shall  state  the  circumstance  :  by  a  verbal  invitation 
of  yours,  communicated  to  congress  by  General  Sullivan, 
then  a  prisoner  on  his  parole,  you  signified  your  desire  of 
conferring  with  some  members  of  that  body  as  private  gen- 
tlemen. It  was  beneath  the  dignity  of  the  American  con- 
gress to  pay  any  regard  to  a  message  that  at  best  was  but  a 
genteel  affront,  and  had  too  much  of  the  ministerial  com- 
plexion of  tampering  with  private  persons  ;  and  which  might 
probably  have  been  the  case,  had  the  gentlemen  who  were 
deputed  on  the  business  possessed  that  kind  of  easy  virtue 
which  an  English  courtier  is  so  truly  distinguished  by.  Your 


1 82  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


request,  however,  was  complied  with,  for  honest  men  are 
naturally  more  tender  of  their  civil  than  their  political  fame. 
The  interview  ended  as  every  sensible  man  thought  it  would  ; 
for  your  lordship  knows,  as  well  as  the  writer  of  the  Crisis, 
that  it  is  impossible  for  the  king  of  England  to  promise  the 
repeal,  or  even  the  revisal  of  any  acts  of  parliament ;  where- 
fore, on  your  part,  you  had  nothing  to  say,  more  than  to 
request,  in  the  room  of  demanding,  the  entire  surrender  of 
the  continent ;  and  then,  if  that  was  complied  with,  to 
promise  that  the  inhabitants  should  escape  with  their  lives. 
This  was  the  upshot  of  the  conference.  You  informed  the 
conferees  that  you  were  two  months  in  soliciting  these 
powers.  We  ask,  what  powers?  for  as  commissioner  you 
have  none.  If  you  mean  the  power  of  pardoning,  it  is  an 
oblique  proof  that  your  master  was  determined  to  sacrifice 
all  before  him ;  and  that  you  were  two  months  in  dissuading 
him  from  his  purpose.  Another  evidence  of  his  savage 
obstinacy  !  From  your  own  account  of  the  matter  we  may 
justly  draw  these  two  conclusions:  ist.  That  you  serve  a 
monster ;  and  2d,  That  never  was  a  messenger  sent  on  a 
more  foolish  errand  than  yourself.  This  plain  language  may 
perhaps  sound  uncouthly  to  an  ear  vitiated  by  courtly  re- 
finements, but  words  were  made  for  use,  and  the  fault  lies 
in  deserving  them,  or  the  abuse  in  applying  them  unfairly. 

Soon  after  your  return  to  New-York,  you  published  a  very 
illiberal  and  unmanly  handbill  against  the  congress ;  for  it 
was  certainly  stepping  out  of  the  line  of  common  civility, 
first  to  screen  your  national  pride  by  soliciting  an  interview 
with  them  as  private  gentlemen,  and  in  the  conclusion  to 
endeavor  to  deceive  the  multitude  by  making  a  handbill 
attack  on  the  whole  body  of  the  congress ;  you  got  them 
together  under  one  name,  and  abused  them  under  another. 
But  the  king  you  serve,  and  the  cause  you  support,  afford 
you  so  few  instances  of  acting  the  gentleman,  that  out  of 
pity  to  your  situation  the  congress  pardoned  the  insult  by 
taking  no  notice  of  it. 

You  say  in  that  handbill,  "  that  they,  the  congress,  dis- 
avowed every  purpose  for  reconciliation  not  consonant  with 


1/77] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


183 


their  extravagant  and  inadmissable  claim  of  independence." 
Why,  God  bless  me !  what  have  you  to  do  with  our  inde- 
pendence ?  We  ask  no  leave  of  yours  to  set  it  up ;  we  ask 
no  money  of  yours  to  support  it ;  we  can  do  better  without 
your  fleets  and  armies  than  with  them ;  you  may  soon  have 
enough  to  do  to  protect  yourselves  without  being  burdened 
with  us.  We  are  very  willing  to  be  at  peace  with  you,  to 
buy  of  you  and  sell  to  you,  and,  like  young  beginners  in  the 
world,  to  work  for  our  living ;  therefore,  why  do  you  put 
yourselves  out  of  cash,  when  we  know  you  cannot  spare  it, 
and  we  do  not  desire  you  to  run  into  debt?  I  am  willing, 
sir,  that  you  should  see  your  folly  in  every  point  of  view  I 
can  place  it  in,  and  for  that  reason  descend  sometimes  to  tell 
you  in  jest  what  I  wish  you  to  see  in  earnest.  But  to  be 
more  serious  with  you,  why  do  you  say,  "  their  independ- 
ence ?  "  To  set  you  right,  sir,  we  tell  you,  that  the  inde- 
pendancy  is  ours,  not  theirs.  The  congress  were  authorised 
by  every  state  on  the  continent  to  publish  it  to  all  the 
world,  and  in  so  doing  are  not  to  be  considered  as  the  in- 
ventors, but  only  as  the  heralds  that  proclaimed  it,  or  the 
office  from  which  the  sense  of  the  people  received  a  legal 
form  ;  and  it  was  as  much  as  any  or  all  their  heads  were 
worth,  to  have  treated  with  you  on  the  subject  of  submission 
under  any  name  whatever.  But  we  know  the  men  in  whom 
we  have  trusted  ;  can  England  say  the  same  of  her  parlia- 
ment ? 

I  come  now  more  particularly  to  your  proclamation  of  the 
30th  of  November  last.  Had  you  gained  an  entire  conquest 
over  all  the  armies  of  America,  and  then  put  forth  a  proc- 
lamation, offering  (what  you  call)  mercy,  your  conduct  would 
have  had  some  specious  show  of  humanity  ;  but  to  creep  by 
surprise  into  a  province,  and  there  endeavor  to  terrify  and 
seduce  the  inhabitants  from  their  just  allegiance  to  the  rest 
by  promises,  which  you  neither  meant  nor  were  able  to  ful- 
fil, is  both  cruel  and  unmanly  :  cruel  in  its  effects  ;  because, 
unless  you  can  keep  all  the  ground  you  have  marched  over, 
how  are  you,  in  the  words  of  your  proclamation,  to  secure 
to  your  proselytes  "the  enjoyment  of  their  property?" 


1 84  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


What  is  to  become  either  of  your  new  adopted  subjects,  or 
your  old  friends,  the  tories,  in  Burlington,  Bordentown, 
Trenton,  Mount  Holly,  and  many  other  places,  where  you 
proudly  lorded  it  for  a  few  days,  and  then  fled  with  the  pre- 
cipitation of  a  pursued  thief  ?  What,  I  say,  is  to  become  of 
those  wretches?  What  is  to  become  of  those  who  went 
over  to  you  from  this  city  and  state  ?  What  more  can 
you  say  to  them  than  "  shift  for  yourselves  ?  "  Or  what 
more  can  they  hope  for  than  to  wander  like  vagabonds  over 
the  face  of  the  earth  ?  You  may  now  tell  them  to  take  their 
leave  of  America,  and  all  that  once  was  theirs.  Recommend 
them,  for  consolation,  to  your  master's  court ;  there  perhaps 
they  may  make  a  shift  to  live  on  the  scraps  of  some  dangling 
parasite,  and  choose  companions  among  thousands  like  them- 
selves.   A  traitor  is  the  foulest  fiend  on  earth. 

In  a  political  sense  we  ought  to  thank  you  for  thus  be- 
queathing estates  to  the  continent  ;  we  shall  soon,  at  this 
rate,  be  able  to  carry  on  a  war  without  expense,  and  grow 
rich  by  the  ill  policy  of  lord  Howe,  and  the  generous  defec- 
tion of  the  tories.  Had  you  set  your  foot  into  this  city,  you 
would  have  bestowed  estates  upon  us  which  we  never 
thought  of,  by  bringing  forth  traitors  we  were  unwilling  to 
suspect.  But  these  men,  you  '11  say,  "  are  his  majesty's 
most  faithful  subjects;  "  let  that  honour,  then,  be  all  their 
fortune,  and  let  his  majesty  take  them  to  himself. 

I  am  now  thoroughly  disgusted  with  them ;  they  live  in 
ungrateful  ease,  and  bend  their  whole  minds  to  mischief.  It 
seems  as  if  God  had  given  them  over  to  a  spirit  of  infidelity, 
and  that  they  are  open  to  conviction  in  no  other  line  but  that 
of  punishment.  It  is  time  to  have  done  with  tarring,  feath- 
ering, carting,  and  taking  securities  for  their  future  good 
behaviour ;  every  sensible  man  must  feel  a  conscious  shame 
at  seeing  a  poor  fellow  hawked  for  a  show  about  the  streets, 
when  it  is  known  he  is  only  the  tool  of  some  principal  vil- 
lain, biassed  into  his  offence  by  the  force  of  false  reasoning, 
or  bribed  thereto,  through  sad  necessity.  We  dishonor  our- 
selves by  attacking  such  trifling  characters  while  greater  ones 
are  suffered  to  escape ;  'tis  our  duty  to  find  them  out,  and 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


185 


their  proper  punishment  would  be  to  exile  them  from  the 
continent  for  ever.  The  circle  of  them  is  not  so  great  as 
some  imagine ;  the  influence  of  a  few  have  tainted  many 
who  are  not  naturally  corrupt.  A  continual  circulation  of 
lies  among  those  who  are  not  much  in  the  way  of  hearing 
them  contradicted,  will  in  time  pass  for  truth  ;  and  the  crime 
lies  not  in  the  believer  but  the  inventor.  I  am  not  for  de- 
claring war  with  every  man  that  appears  not  so  warm  as 
myself :  difference  of  constitution,  temper,  habit  of  speaking, 
and  many  other  things,  will  go  a  great  way  in  fixing  the 
outward  character  of  a  man,  yet  simple  honesty  may  remain 
at  bottom.  Some  men  have  naturally  a  military  turn,  and 
can  brave  hardships  and  the  risk  of  life  with  a  cheerful  face  ; 
others  have  not ;  no  slavery  appears  to  them  so  great  as  the 
fatigue  of  arms,  and  no  terror  so  powerful  as  that  of  personal 
danger.  What  can  we  say  ?  We  cannot  alter  nature,  neither 
ought  we  to  punish  the  son  because  the  father  begot  him  in 
a  cowardly  mood.  However,  I  believe  most  men  have  more 
courage  than  they  know  of,  and  that  a  little  at  first  is  enough 
to  begin  with.  I  knew  the  time  when  I  thought  that  the 
whistling  of  a  cannon  ball  would  have  frightened  me  almost 
to  death :  but  I  have  since  tried  it,  and  find  that  I  can  stand 
it  with  as  little  discomposure,  and,  I  believe,  with  a  much 
easier  conscience  than  your  lordship.  The  same  dread  would 
return  to  me  again  were  I  in  your  situation,  for  my  solemn 
belief  of  your  cause  is,  that  it  is  hellish  and  damnable,  and, 
under  that  conviction,  every  thinking  man's  heart  must  fail 
him. 

From  a  concern  that  a  good  cause  should  be  dishonored 
by  the  least  disunion  among  us,  I  said  in  my  former  paper. 
No.  I.  "  That  should  the  enemy  now  be  expelled,  I  wish, 
with  all  the  sincerity  of  a  Christian,  that  the  names  of  whig 
and  tory  might  never  more  be  mentioned  ;  "  but  there  is  a 
knot  of  men  among  us  of  such  a  venomous  cast,  that  they 
will  not  admit  even  one's  good  wishes  to  act  in  their  favor. 
Instead  of  rejoicing  that  heaven  had,  as  it  were,  providen- 
tially preserved  this  city  from  plunder  and  destruction,  by 
delivering  so  great  a  part  of  the  enemy  into  our  hands  with 


1 86  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


SO  little  effusion  of  blood,  they  stubbornly  affected  to  disbe- 
lieve it  till  within  an  hour,  nay,  half  an  hour,  of  the  prisoners 
arriving ;  and  the  Quakers  put  forth  a  testimony,  dated  the 
20th  of  December,  signed  "John  Pemberton,"  declaring 
their  attachment  to  the  British  government.*  These  men 
are  continually  harping  on  the  great  sin  of  our  bearing  arms, 
but  the  king  of  Britain  may  lay  waste  the  world  in  blood  and 
famine,  and  they,  poor  fallen  souls,  have  nothing  to  say. 

In  some  future  paper  I  intend  to  distinguish  between  the 
different  kind  of  persons  who  have  been  denominated  tories  ; 
for  this  I  am  clear  in,  that  all  are  not  so  who  have  been  called 
so,  nor  all  men  whigs  who  were  once  thought  so  ;  and  as  I 
mean  not  to  conceal  the  name  of  any  true  friend  when  there 
shall  be  occasion  to  mention  him,  neither  will  I  that  of  an 
enemy,  who  ought  to  be  known,  let  his  rank,  station  or 
religion  be  what  it  may.  Much  pains  have  been  taken  by 
some  to  set  your  lordship's  private  character  in  an  amiable 
light,  but  as  it  has  chiefly  been  done  by  men  who  know 
nothing  about  you,  and  who  are  no  ways  remarkable  for 
their  attachment  to  us,  we  have  no  just  authority  for  believ- 
ing it.  George  the  third  has  imposed  upon  us  by  the  same 
arts,  but  time,  at  length,  has  done  him  justice,  and  the  same 
fate  may  probably  attend  your  lordship.  Your  avowed  pur- 
pose here  is  to  kill,  conquer,  plunder,  pardon,  and  enslave : 
and  the  ravages  of  your  army  through  the  Jerseys  have  been 
marked  with  as  much  barbarism  as  if  you  had  openly  pro- 
fessed yourself  the  prince  of  ruffians  ;  not  even  the  appear- 
ance of  humanity  has  been  preserved  either  on  the  march  or 
the  retreat  of  your  troops ;  no  general  order  that  I  could 
ever  learn,  has  ever  been  issued  to  prevent  or  even  forbid 

*  I  have  ever  been  careful  of  charging  offences  upon  whole  societies  of  men, 
but  as  the  paper  referred  to  is  put  forth  by  an  unknown  set  of  men,  who  claim 
to  themselves  the  right  of  representing  the  whole  :  and  while  the  whole  society 
of  Quakers  admit  its  validity  by  a  silent  acknowledgment,  it  is  impossible  that 
any  distinction  can  be  made  by  the  public  :  and  the  more  so,  because  the  New 
York  paper  of  the  30th  of  December,  printed  by  permission  of  our  enemies, 
says  that  "the  Quakers  begin  to  speak  openly  of  their  attachment  to  the 
British  constitution."  We  are  certain  that  we  have  many  friends  among  them, 
and  wish  to  know  them. — Author. 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


your  troops  from  robbery,  wherever  they  came,  and  the  only 
instance  of  justice,  if  it  can  be  called  such,  which  has 
distinguished  you  for  impartiality,  is,  that  you  treated  and 
plundered  all  alike  ;  what  could  not  be  carried  away  has  been 
destroyed,  and  mahogany  furniture  has  been  deliberately 
laid  on  fire  for  fuel,  rather  than  the  men  should  be  fatigued 
with  cutting  wood.*  There  was  a  time  when  the  whigs  con- 
fided much  in  your  supposed  candor,  and  the  tories  rested 
themselves  in  your  favor ;  the  experiments  have  now  been 
made,  and  failed  ;  in  every  town,  nay,  every  cottage,  in  the 
Jerseys,  where  your  arms  have  been,  is  a  testimony  against 
you.  How  you  may  rest  under  this  sacrifice  of  character  I 
know  not ;  but  this  I  know,  that  you  sleep  and  rise  with  the 
daily  curses  of  thousands  upon  you ;  perhaps  the  misery 
which  the  tories  have  suffered  by  your  proffered  mercy  may 
give  them  some  claim  to  their  country's  pity,  and  be  in  the 
end  the  best  favor  you  could  show  them. 

In  a  folio  general-order  book  belonging  to  Col.  Rhal's 
battalion,  taken  at  Trenton,  and  now  in  the  possession  of 
the  council  of  safety  for  this  state,  the  following  barbarous 
order  is  frequently  repeated,  "  His  excellency  the  comman- 
der-in-chief orde.YS,  that  all  inhabitants  who  shall  be  found 
with  arms,  not  having  an  officer  with  them,  shall  be  imme- 
diately taken  and  hung  up." '  How  many  you  may  thus 
have  privately  sacrificed,  we  know  not,  and  the  account  can 
only  be  settled  in  another  world.  Your  treatment  of  pris- 
oners, in  order  to  distress  them  to  enlist  in  your  infernal 
service,  is  not  to  be  equalled  by  any  instance  in  Europe. 
Yet  this  is  the  humane  lord  Howe  and  his  brother,  whom 

*  As  some  people  may  doubt  the  truth  of  such  wanton  destruction,  I  think  it 
necessary  to  inform  them,  that  one  of  the  people  called  Quakers,  who  lives  at 
Trenton,  gave  me  this  information,  at  the  house  of  Mr.  Michael  Hutchinson, 
(one  of  the  same  profession,)  who  lives  near  Trenton  ferry  on  the  Pennsylvania 
side,  Mr.  Hutchinson  being  present. — Author. 

'  Col.  Johann  Gottlieb  Rahl,  or  Rail  (as  the  name  is  now  written),  a  Hes- 
sian, had  distinguished  himself  in  compelling  the  Americans  to  evacuate  Forts 
Washington  and  Lee,  and  in  the  pursuit  of  Washington  to  the  Delaware  ;  for 
such  service  he  had  been  placed  in  chief  command  at  Trenton,  where  he  fell. — 
Editor. 


1 88  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


the  tories  and  their  three-quarter  kindred,  the  Quakers,  or 
some  of  them  at  least,  have  been  holding  up  for  patterns  of 
justice  and  mercy  ! 

A  bad  cause  will  ever  be  supported  by  bad  means  and 
bad  men  ;  and  whoever  will  be  at  the  pains  of  examining 
strictly  into  things,  will  find  that  one  and  the  same  spirit  of 
oppression  and  impiety,  more  or  less,  governs  through  3''our 
whole  party  in  both  countries  :  not  many  days  ago,  I  acci- 
dentally fell  in  company  with  a  person  of  this  city  noted  for 
espousing  your  cause,  and  on  my  remarking  to  him,  "  that  it 
appeared  clear  to  me,  by  the  late  providential  turn  of  afTairs, 
that  God  Almighty  was  visibly  on  our  side,"  he  replied, 
"  We  care  nothing  for  that,  you  may  have  Him,  and  wel- 
come ;  if  we  have  but  enough  of  the  devil  on  our  side,  we 
shall  do."  However  carelessly  this  might  be  spoken,  mat- 
ters not,  'tis  still  the  insensible  principle  that  directs  all  your 
conduct  and  will  at  last  most  assuredly  deceive  and  ruin  you. 

If  ever  a  nation  was  mad  and  foolish,  blind  to  its  own 
interest  and  bent  on  its  own  destruction,  it  is  Britain.  There 
are  such  things  as  national  sins,  and  though  the  punishment 
of  individuals  may  be  reserved  to  another  world,  national 
punishment  can  only  be  inflicted  in  this  world.  Britain,  as 
a  nation,  is,  in  my  inmost  belief,  the  greatest  and  most  un- 
grateful offender  against  God  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth: 
blessed  with  all  the  commerce  she  could  wish  for,  and  fur- 
nished, by  a  vast  extension  of  dominion,  with  the  means  of 
civilizing  both  the  eastern  and  western  world,  she  has  made 
no  other  use  of  both  than  proudly  to  idolize  her  own 
"  thunder,"  and  rip  up  the  bowels  of  whole  countries  for 
what  she  could  get :  Like  Alexander,  she  has  made  war  her 
sport,  and  inflicted  misery  for  prodigality's  sake.  The  blood 
of  India  is  not  yet  repaid,  nor  the  wretchedness  of  Africa 
yet  requited.  Of  late  she  has  enlarged  her  list  of  national 
cruelties  by  her  butcherly  destruction  of  the  Caribbs  of  St. 
Vincent's,  and  returning  an  answer  by  the  sword  to  the  meek 
prayer  for  "  Peace,  liberty  and  safety^  These  are  serious 
things,  and  whatever  a  foolish  tyrant,  a  debauched  court,  a 
trafficking  legislature,  or  a  blinded  people  may  think,  the 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


national  account  with  heaven  must  some  day  or  other  be 
settled  :  all  countries  have  sooner  or  later  been  called  to 
their  reckoning  ;  the  proudest  empires  have  sunk  when  the 
balance  was  struck  ;  and  Britain,  like  an  individual  penitent, 
must  undergo  her  day  of  sorrow,  and  the  sooner  it  happens 
to  her  the  better  :  as  I  wish  it  over,  I  wish  it  to  come,  but 
withal  wish  that  it  may  be  as  light  as  possible. 

Perhaps  your  lordship  has  no  taste  for  serious  things  ;  by 
your  connexions  in  England  I  should  suppose  not ;  there- 
fore I  shall  drop  this  part  of  the  subject,  and  take  it  up  in  a 
line  in  which  you  will  better  understand  me. 

By  what  means,  may  I  ask,  do  you  expect  to  conquer 
America?  If  you  could  not  effect  it  in  the  summer,  when 
our  army  was  less  than  yours,  nor  in  the  winter,  when  we 
had  none,  how  are  you  to  do  it  ?  In  point  of  generalship 
you  have  been  outwitted,  and  in  point  of  fortitude  outdone; 
your  advantages  turn  out  to  your  loss,  and  show  us  that  it 
is  in  our  power  to  ruin  you  by  gifts  :  like  a  game  of  drafts, 
we  can  move  out  of  ojte  square  to  let  you  come  in,  in  order 
that  we  may  afterwards  take  two  or  three  for  one  ;  and  as 
we  can  always  keep  a  double  corner  for  ourselves,  we  can 
always  prevent  a  total  defeat.  You  cannot  be  so  insensible 
as  not  to  see  that  we  have  two  to  one  the  advantage  of  you, 
because  we  conquer  by  a  drawn  game,  and  you  lose  by  it. 
Burgoyne  might  have  taught  your  lordship  this  knowledge  ; 
he  has  been  long  a  student  in  the  doctrine  of  chances. 

I  have  no  other  idea  of  conquering  countries  than  by  sub- 
duing the  armies  which  defend  them  :  have  you  done  this, 
or  can  you  do  it  ?  If  you  have  not,  it  would  be  civil  in  you 
to  let  your  proclamations  alone  for  the  present  ;  otherwise, 
you  will  ruin  more  tories  by  your  grkce  and  favor,  than  you 
will  whigs  by  your  arms. 

Were  you  to  obtain  possession  of  this  city,  you  would  not 
know  what  to  do  with  it  more  than  to  plunder  it.  To  hold 
it  in  the  manner  you  hold  New-York,  would  be  an  additional 
dead  weight  upon  your  hands  :  and  if  a  general  conquest  is 
your  object,  you  had  better  be  without  the  city  than  with  it. 
When  you  have  defeated  all  our  armies,  the  cities  will  fall 


igo  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


into  your  hands  of  themselves ;  but  to  creep  into  them  in 
the  manner  you  got  into  Princeton,  Trenton,  &c.  is  like  rob- 
bing an  orchard  in  the  night  before  the  fruit  be  ripe,  and 
running  away  in  the  morning.  Your  experiment  in  the 
Jerseys  is  sufficient  to  teach  you  that  you  have  something 
more  to  do  than  barely  to  get  into  other  people's  houses ; 
and  your  new  converts,  to  whom  you  promised  all  manner 
of  protection,  and  seduced  into  new  guilt  by  pardoning  them 
from  their  former  virtues,  must  begin  to  have  a  very  con- 
temptible opinion  both  of  your  power  and  your  policy. 
Your  authority  in  the  Jerseys  is  now  reduced  to  the  small 
circle  which  your  army  occupies,  and  your  proclamation  is 
no  where  else  seen  unless  it  be  to  be  laughed  at.  The 
mighty  subduers  of  the  continent  have  retreated  into  a  nut- 
shell, and  the  proud  forgivers  of  our  sins  are  fled  from  those 
they  came  to  pardon  ;  and  all  this  at  a  time  when  they  were 
despatching  vessel  after  vessel  to  England  with  the  great 
news  of  every  day.  In  short,  you  have  managed  your 
Jersey  expedition  so  very  dexterously,  that  the  dead  only 
are  conquerors,  because  none  will  dispute  the  ground  with 
them. 

In  all  the  wars  which  you  have  formerly  been  concerned 
in  you  had  only  armies  to  contend  with  ;  in  this  case  you 
have  both  an  army  and  a  country  to  combat  with.  In 
former  wars,  the  countries  followed  the  fate  of  their  capitals; 
Canada  fell  with  Quebec,  and  Minorca  with  Port  Mahon  or 
St.  Phillips  ;  by  subduing  those,  the  conquerors  opened  a 
way  into,  and  became  masters  of  the  country  :  here  it  is 
otherwise  ;  if  you  get  possession  of  a  city  here,  you  are 
obliged  to  shut  yourselves  up  in  it,  and  can  make  no  other 
use  of  it,  than  to  spend  your  country's  money  in.  This  is 
all  the  advantage  you  have  drawn  from  New-York ;  and 
you  would  draw  less  from  Philadelphia,  because  it  requires 
more  force  to  keep  it,  and  is  much  further  from  the  sea.  A 
pretty  figure  you  and  the  tories  would  cut  in  this  city,  with 
a  river  full  of  ice,  and  a  town  full  of  fire  ;  for  the  immediate 
consequence  of  your  getting  here  would  be,  that  you  would 
be  cannonaded  out  again,  and  the  tories  be  obliged  to 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


191 


make  good  the  damage  ;  and  this  sooner  or  later  will  be  the 
fate  of  New-York. 

I  wish  to  see  the  city  saved,  not  so  much  from  military  as 
from  natural  motives.  'Tis  the  hiding  place  of  women  and 
children,  and  lord  Howe's  proper  business  is  with  our  armies. 
When  I  put  all  the  circumstances  together  which  ought  to  be 
taken,  I  laugh  at  your  notion  of  conquering  America,  Be- 
cause you  lived  in  a  little  country,  where  an  army  might  run 
over  the  whole  in  a  few  days,  and  where  a  single  company 
of  soldiers  might  put  a  multitude  to  the  rout,  you  expected 
to  find  it  the  same  here.  It  is  plain  that  you  brought  over 
with  you  all  the  narrow  notions  you  were  bred  up  with,  and 
imagined  that  a  proclamation  in  the  king's  name  was  to  do 
great  things  ;  but  Englishmen  always  travel  for  knowledge, 
and  your  lordship,  I  hope,  will  return,  if  you  return  at  all, 
much  wiser  than  you  came. 

We  may  be  surprised  by  events  we  did  not  expect,  and  in 
that  interval  of  recollection  you  may  gain  some  temporary 
advantage  :  such  was  the  case  a  few  weeks  ago,  but  we  soon 
ripen  again  into  reason,  collect  our  strength,  and  while  you 
are  preparing  for  a  triumph,  we  come  upon  you  with  a  de- 
feat. Such  it  has  been,  and  such  it  would  be  were  you  to 
try  it  a  hundred  times  over.  Were  you  to  garrison  the 
places  you  might  march  over,  in  order  to  secure  their  sub- 
jection, (for  remember  you  can  do  it  by  no  other  means,) 
your  army  would  be  like  a  stream  of  water  running  to 
nothing.  By  the  time  you  extended  from  New-York  to 
Virginia,  you  would  be  reduced  to  a  string  of  drops  not 
capable  of  hanging  together ;  while  we,  by  retreating  from 
state  to  state,  like  a  river  turning  back  upon  itself,  would 
acquire  strength  in  the  same  proportion  as  you  lost  it,  and 
in  the  end  be  capable  of  overwhelming  you.  The  country, 
in  the  meantime,  would  suffer,  but  it  is  a  day  of  suffering, 
and  we  ought  to  expect  it.  What  we  contend  for  is  worthy 
the  affliction  we  may  go  through.  If  we  get  but  bread  to 
eat,  and  any  kind  of  raiment  to  put  on,  we  ought  not  only 
to  be  contented,  but  thankful.  More  than  that  we  ought 
not  to  look  for,  and  less  than  that  heaven  has  not  yet  suf- 


192  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


fered  us  to  want.  He  that  would  sell  his  birthright  for  a 
little  salt,  is  as  worthless  as  he  who  sold  it  for  pottage  with- 
out salt ;  and  he  that  would  part  with  it  for  a  gay  coat,  or  a 
plain  coat,  ought  for  ever  to  be  a  slave  in  buf?.  What  are 
salt,  sugar  and  finery,  to  the  inestimable  blessings  of 
"  Liberty  and  Safety  !  "  Or  what  are  the  inconveniences  of 
a  few  months  to  the  tributary  bondage  of  ages?  The 
meanest  peasant  in  America,  blessed  with  these  sentiments, 
is  a  happy  man  compared  with  a  New- York  tory  ;  he  can  eat 
his  morsel  without  repining,  and  when  he  has  done,  can 
sweeten  it  with  a  repast  of  wholesome  air  ;  he  can  take  his 
child  by  the  hand  and  bless  it,  without  feeling  the  conscious 
shame  of  neglecting  a  parent's  duty. 

In  publishing  these  remarks  I  have  several  objects  in 
view. 

On  your  part  they  are  to  expose  the  folly  of  your  pre- 
tended authority  as  a  commissioner  ;  the  wickedness  of  your 
cause  in  general ;  and  the  impossibility  of  your  conquering 
us  at  any  rate.  On  the  part  of  the  public,  my  intention  is, 
to  show  them  their  true  and  solid  interest ;  to  encourage  them 
to  their  own  good,  to  remove  the  fears  and  falsities  which 
bad  men  have  spread,  and  weak  men  have  encouraged  ; 
and  to  excite  in  all  men  a  love  for  union,  and  a  cheerfulness 
for  duty. 

I  shall  submit  one  more  case  to  you  respecting  your 
conquest  of  this  country,  and  then  proceed  to  new  obser- 
vations. 

Suppose  our  armies  in  every  part  of  this  continent  were 
immediately  to  disperse,  every  man  to  his  home,  or  where 
else  he  might  be  safe,  and  engage  to  re-assemble  again  on  a 
certain  future  day  ;  it  is  clear  that  you  would  then  have  no 
army  to  contend  with,  yet  you  would  be  as  much  at  a  loss 
in  that  case  as  you  are  now ;  you  would  be  afraid  to  send 
your  troops  in  parties  over  to  the  continent,  either  to  disarm 
or  prevent  us  from  assembling,  lest  they  should  not  return  ; 
and  while  you  kept  them  together,  having  no  arms  of  ours  to 
dispute  with,  you  could  not  call  it  a  conquest ;  you  might 
furnish  out  a  pompous  page  in  the  London  Gazette  or  a 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


New-York  paper,  but  when  we  returned  at  the  appointed 
time,  you  would  have  the  same  work  to  do  that  you  had 
at  first. 

It  has  been  the  folly  of  Britain  to  suppose  herself  more 
powerful  than  she  really  is,  and  by  that  means  has  arrogated 
to  herself  a  rank  in  the  world  she  is  not  entitled  to:  for  more 
than  this  century  past  she  has  not  been  able  to  carry  on  a 
war  without  foreign  assistance.  In  Marlborough's  campaigns, 
and  from  that  day  to  this,  the  number  of  German  troops  and 
ofificers  assisting  her  have  been  about  equal  with  her  own  ; 
ten  thousand  Hessians  were  sent  to  England  last  war  to 
protect  her  from  a  French  invasion  ;  and  she  would  have  cut 
but  a  poor  figure  in  her  Canadian  and  West-Indian  expedi- 
tions, had  not  America  been  lavish  both  of  her  money  and 
men  to  help  her  along.  The  only  instance  in  which  she  was 
engaged  singly,  that  I  can  recollect,  was  against  the  rebellion 
in  Scotland,  in  the  years  1745  and  1746,  and  in  that,  out  of 
three  battles,  she  was  twice  beaten,  till  by  thus  reducing  their 
numbers,  (as  we  shall  yours)  and  taking  a  supply  ship  that 
was  coming  to  Scotland  with  clothes,  arms  and  money,  (as 
we  have  often  done,)  she  was  at  last  enabled  to  defeat  them. 
England  was  never  famous  by  land  ;  her  officers  have  gener- 
ally been  suspected  of  cowardice,  have  more  of  the  air  of  a 
dancing-master  than  a  soldier,  and  by  the  samples  which  we 
have  taken  prisoners,  we  give  the  preference  to  ourselves. 
Her  strength,  of  late,  has  lain  in  her  extravagance  ;  but  as  her 
finances  and  credit  are  now  low,  her  sinews  in  that  line  begin 
to  fail  fast.  As  a  nation  she  is  the  poorest  in  Europe  ;  for 
were  the  whole  kingdom,  and  all  that  is  in  it,  to  be  put  up 
for  sale  like  the  estate  of  a  bankrupt,  it  would  not  fetch  as 
much  as  she  owes  ;  yet  this  thoughtless  wretch  must  go  to 
war,  and  with  the  avowed  design,  too,  of  making  us  beasts 
of  burden,  to  support  her  in  riot  and  debauchery,  and  to 
assist  her  afterwards  in  distressing  those  nations  who  are  now 
our  best  friends.  This  ingratitude  may  suit  a  tory,  or  the 
unchristian  peevishness  of  a  fallen  Quaker,  but  none  else. 

'Tis  the  unhappy  temper  of  the  English  to  be  pleased 
with  any  war,  right  or  wrong,  be  it  but  successful ;  but  they 

VOL.  I— 13 


194  ^'^A^   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


soon  grow  discontented  with  ill  fortune,  and  it  is  an  even 
chance  that  they  are  as  clamorous  for  peace  next  summer, 
as  the  king  and  his  ministers  were  for  war  last  winter.  In 
this  natural  view  of  things,  your  lordship  stands  in  a  very 
critical  situation  :  your  whole  character  is  now  staked  upon 
your  laurels ;  if  they  wither,  you  wither  with  them  ;  if  they 
flourish,  you  cannot  live  long  to  look  at  them  ;  and  at  any 
rate,  the  black  account  hereafter  is  not  far  off.  What  lately 
appeared  to  us  misfortunes,  were  only  blessings  in  disguise; 
and  the  seeming  advantages  on  your  side  have  turned  out 
to  our  profit.  Even  our  loss  of  this  city,  as  far  as  we  can  see, 
might  be  a  principal  gain  to  us  :  the  more  surface  you  spread 
over,  the  thinner  you  will  be,  and  the  easier  wiped  away ; 
and  our  consolation  under  that  apparent  disaster  would  be, 
that  the  estates  of  the  tories  would  become  securities  for  the 
repairs.  In  short,  there  is  no  old  ground  we  can  fail  upon, 
but  some  new  foundation  rises  again  to  support  us.  "  We 
have  put,  sir,  our  hands  to  the  plough,  and  cursed  be  he  that 
looketh  back." 

Your  king,  in  his  speech  to  parliament  last  spring,  declared, 
"That  he  had  no  doubt  but  the  great  force  they  had  enabled 
him  to  send  to  America,  would  effectually  reduce  the  rebel- 
lious colonies."  It  has  not,  neither  can  it ;  but  it  has  done 
just  enough  to  lay  the  foundation  of  its  own  next  year's  ruin. 
You  are  sensible  that  you  left  England  in  a  divided,  distracted 
state  of  politics,  and,  by  the  command  you  had  here,  you 
became  a  principal  prop  in  the  court  party  ;  their  fortunes 
rest  on  yours ;  by  a  single  express  you  can  fix  their  value 
with  the  public,  and  the  degree  to  which  their  spirits  shall 
rise  or  fall ;  they  are  in  your  hands  as  stock,  and  you  have  the 
secret  of  the  alley  with  you.  Thus  situated  and  connected, 
you  become  the  unintentional  mechanical  instrument  of  your 
own  and  their  overthrow.  The  king  and  his  ministers  put 
conquest  out  of  doubt,  and  the  credit  of  both  depended  on 
the  proof.  To  support  them  in  the  interim,  it  was  necessary 
that  you  should  make  the  most  of  every  thing,  and  we  can 
tell  by  Hugh  Gaine's  New- York  paper  what  the  complexion 
of  the  London  Gazette  is.  With  such  a  list  of  victories  the 
nation  cannot  expect  you  will  ask  new  supplies ;  and  to 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


confess  your  want  of  them  would  give  the  He  to  your  triumphs, 
and  impeach  the  king  and  his  ministers  of  treasonable  decep- 
tion. If  you  make  the  necessary  demand  at  home,  your 
party  sinks  ;  if  you  make  it  not,  you  sink  yourself ;  to  ask  it 
now  is  too  late,  and  to  ask  it  before  was  too  soon,  and  unless 
it  arrive  quickly  will  be  of  no  use.  In  short,  the  part  you 
have  to  act,  cannot  be  acted  ;  and  I  am  fully  persuaded  that 
all  you  have  to  trust  to  is,  to  do  the  best  you  can  with  what 
force  you  have  got,  or  little  more.  Though  we  have  greatly 
■exceeded  you  in  point  of  generalship  and  bravery  of  men, 
yet,  as  a  people,  we  have  not  entered  into  the  full  soul  of 
enterprise  ;  for  I,  who  know  England  and  the  disposition  of 
the  people  well,  am  confident,  that  it  is  easier  for  us  to  effect 
a  revolution  there,  than  you  a  conquest  here  ;  a  few  thousand 
men  landed  in  England  with  the  declared  design  of  deposing 
the  present  king,  bringing  his  ministers  to  trial,  and  setting 
up  the  Duke  of  Gloucester  in  his  stead,  would  assuredly  carry 
their  point,  while  you  are  grovelling  here,  ignorant  of  the 
matter.  As  I  send  all  my  papers  to  England,  this,  like  Com- 
mon Sense,  will  find  its  way  there  ;  and  though  it  may  put 
one  party  on  their  guard,  it  will  inform  the  other,  and  the 
nation  in  general,  of  our  design  to  help  them. 

Thus  far,  sir,  I  have  endeavored  to  give  you  a  picture  of 
present  affairs  :  you  may  draw  from  it  what  conclusions  you 
please.  I  wish  as  well  to  the  true  prosperity  of  England  as 
you  can,  but  I  consider  INDEPENDANCE  as  America  s  natural 
right  and  interest,  and  never  could  see  any  real  disservice  it 
would  be  to  Britain.  If  an  English  merchant  receives  an 
order,  and  is  paid  for  it,  it  signifies  nothing  to  him  who 
governs  the  country.  This  is  my  creed  of  politics.  If  I 
have  any  where  expressed  myself  over-warmly,  'tis  from  a 
fixed,  immovable  hatred  I  have,  and  ever  had,  to  cruel  men 
and  cruel  measures.  I  have  likewise  an  aversion  to  monar- 
chy, as  being  too  debasing  to  the  dignity  of  man  ;  but  I 
never  troubled  others  with  my  notions  till  very  lately,  nor 
ever  published  a  syllable  in  England  in  my  life.'    What  I 

'  This  disposes  of  the  notion  that  Paine  was  "  Junius."  He  wrote  a  petition 
to  Parliament  for  the  Excisemen,  but  it  was  not  published  until  1793.  His 
"  Wolfe  "  did  not  appear  in  the  Gentleman' s  Magazine,  as  Mr.  Burr  supposes. 
— Editor. 


196  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


write  is  pure  nature,  and  my  pen  and  my  soul  have  ever 
gone  together.  My  writings  I  have  always  given  away, 
reserving  only  the  expense  of  printing  and  paper,  and  some- 
times not  even  that.  I  never  courted  either  fame  or  interest, 
and  my  manner  of  life,  to  those  who  know  it,  will  justify 
what  I  say.  My  study  is  to  be  useful,  and  if  your  lordship 
loves  mankind  as  well  as  I  do,  you  would,  seeing  you  cannot 
conquer  us,  cast  about  and  lend  your  hand  towards  accom- 
plishing a  peace.  Our  independance  with  God's  blessing  we 
will  maintain  against  all  the  world  ;  but  as  we  wish  to  avoid 
evil  ourselves,  we  wish  not  to  inflict  it  on  others.  I  am 
never  over-inquisitive  into  the  secrets  of  the  cabinet,  but  I 
have  some  notion  that,  if  you  neglect  the  present  oppor- 
tunity, it  will  not  be  in  our  power  to  make  a  separate  peace 
with  you  afterwards  ;  for  whatever  treaties  or  alliances  we 
form,  we  shall  most  faithfully  abide  by  ;  wherefore  you  may 
be  deceived  if  you  think  you  can  make  it  with  us  at  any 
time.  A  lasting  independent  peace  is  my  wish,  end  and 
aim ;  and  to  accomplish  that,  "  /  pray  God  the  Americans 
may  never  be  defeated,  and  I  trust  while  they  have  good  officers, 
and  are  well  commanded,''  and  willing  to  be  commanded, 
that  they'ii'E.N'EK  will  be." 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  Jan.  13,  1777. 


THE  CRISIS." 
III. 

In  the  progress  of  politics,  as  in  the  common  occurrences 
of  life,  we  are  not  only  apt  to  forget  the  ground  we  have 
travelled  over,  but  frequently  neglect  to  gather  up  experi- 
ence as  we  go.  We  expend,  if  I  may  so  say,  the  knowledge 
of  every  day  on  the  circumstances  that  produce  it,  and 

'  This  Crisis  is  dated  April  19,  1777,  the  second  anniversary  of  the  collision 
at  Lexington.  Two  days  before  (April  17,  1777)  Paine  had  been  appointed  by 
Congress  Secretary  of  the  Committee  of  Foreign  Affairs,  on  its  constitution.— 
Editor. 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


197 


journey  on  in  search  of  new^  matter  and  new  refinements : 
but  as  it  is  pleasant  and  sometimes  useful  to  look  back,  even 
to  the  first  periods  of  infancy,  and  trace  the  turns  and  wind- 
ings through  which  we  have  passed,  so  we  may  likewise 
derive  many  advantages  by  halting  a  while  in  our  political 
career,  and  taking  a  review  of  the  wondrous  complicated 
labyrinth  of  little  more  than  yesterday. 

Truly  may  we  say,  that  never  did  men  grow  old  in  so 
short  a  time  !  We  have  crowded  the  business  of  an  age 
into  the  compass  of  a  few  months,  and  have  been  driven 
through  such  a  rapid  succession  of  things,  that  for  the  want 
of  leisure  to  think,  we  unavoidably  wasted  knowledge  as  we 
came,  and  have  left  nearly  as  much  behind  us  as  we  brought 
with  us :  but  the  road  is  yet  rich  with  the  fragments,  and, 
before  we  finally  lose  sight  of  them,  will  repay  us  for  the 
trouble  of  stopping  to  pick  them  up. 

Were  a  man  to  be  totally  deprived  of  memory,  he  would 
be  incapable  of  forming  any  just  opinion  ;  every  thing  about 
him  would  seem  a  chaos :  he  would  have  even  his  own  his- 
tory to  ask  from  every  one ;  and  by  not  knowing  how  the 
world  went  in  his  absence,  he  would  be  at  a  loss  to  know 
how  it  ought  to  go  on  when  he  recovered,  or  rather,  returned 
to  it  again.  In  like  manner,  though  in  a  less  degree,  a  too 
great  inattention  to  past  occurrences  retards  and  bewilders  our 
judgment  in  everything  ;  while,  on  the  contrary,  by  com- 
paring what  is  past  with  what  is  present,  we  frequently  hit 
on  the  true  character  of  both,  and  become  wise  with  very 
little  trouble.  It  is  a  kind  of  counter-march,  by  which  we 
get  into  the  rear  of  time,  and  mark  the  movements  and 
meaning  of  things  as  we  make  our  return.  There  are  certain 
circumstances,  which,  at  the  time  of  their  happening,  are  a 
kind  of  riddles,  and  as  every  riddle  is  to  be  followed  by  its 
answer,  so  those  kind  of  circumstances  will  be  followed  by 
their  events,  and  those  events  are  always  the  true  solution. 
A  considerable  space  of  time  may  lapse  between,  and  unless 
we  continue  our  observations  from  the  one  to  the  other,  the 
harmony  of  them  will  pass  away  unnoticed  :  but  the  misfor- 
tune is,  that  partly  from  the  pressing  necessity  of  some 


198  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i777 


instant  things,  and  partly  from  the  impatience  of  our  own 
tempers,  we  are  frequently  in  such  a  hurry  to  make  out  the 
meaning  of  everything  as  fast  as  it  happens,  that  we  there- 
by never  truly  understand  it ;  and  not  only  start  new  diffi- 
culties to  ourselves  by  so  doing,  but,  as  it  were,  embarrass 
Providence  in  her  good  designs. 

I  have  been  civil  in  stating  this  fault  on  a  large  scale,  for, 
as  it  now  stands,  it  does  not  appear  to  be  levelled  against 
any  particular  set  of  men  ;  but  were  it  to  be  refined  a  little 
further,  it  might  afterwards  be  applied  to  the  tories  with  a 
degree  of  striking  propriety :  those  men  have  been  remark- 
able for  drawing  sudden  conclusions  from  single  facts.  The 
least  apparent  mishap  on  our  side,  or  the  least  seeming  ad- 
vantage on  the  part  of  the  enemy,  have  determined  with 
them  the  fate  of  a  whole  campaign.  By  this  hasty  judg- 
ment they  have  converted  a  retreat  into  a  defeat ;  mistook 
generalship  for  error  ;  while  every  little  advantage  purposely 
given  the  enemy,  either  to  weaken  their  strength  by  dividing 
it,  embarrass  their  councils  by  multiplying  their  objects,  or 
to  secure  a  greater  post  by  the  surrender  of  a  less,  has  been 
instantly  magnified  into  a  conquest.  Thus,  by  quartering 
ill  policy  upon  ill  .principles,  they  have  frequently  promoted 
the  cause  they  designed  to  injure,  and  injured  that  which 
they  intended  to  promote. 

It  is  probable  the  campaign  may  open  before  this  number 
comes  from  the  press.  The  enemy  have  long  lain  idle,  and 
amused  themselves  with  carrying  on  the  war  by  proclama- 
tions only.  While  they  continue  their  delay  our  strength 
increases,  and  were  they  to  move  to  action  now,  it  is  a  cir- 
cumstantial proof  that  they  have  no  reinforcement  coming; 
wherefore,  in  either  case,  the  comparative  advantage  will  be 
ours.  Like  a  wounded,  disabled  whale,  they  want  only  time 
and  room  to  die  in ;  and  though  in  the  agony  of  their  exit, 
it  may  be  unsafe  to  live  within  the  flapping  of  their  tail,  yet 
every  hour  shortens  their  date,  and  lessens  their  power  of 
mischief.  If  any  thing  happens  while  this  number  is  in  the 
press,  it  will  afford  me  a  subject  for  the  last  pages  of  it.  At 
present  I  am  tired  of  waiting  ;  and  as  neither  the  enemy,  nor 


177?]  T^^^  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  1 99 


the  state  of  politics  have  yet  produced  any  thing  new,  I  am 
thereby  left  in  the  field  of  general  matter,  undirected  by  any 
striking  or  particular  object.  This  Crisis,  therefore,  will  be 
made  up  rather  of  variety  than  novelty,  and  consist  more  of 
things  useful  than  things  wonderful. 

The  success  of  the  cause,  the  union  of  the  people,  and  the 
means  of  supporting  and  securing  both,  are  points  which 
cannot  be  too  much  attended  to.  He  who  doubts  of  the 
former  is  a  desponding  coward,  and  he  who  wilfully  dis- 
turbs the  latter  is  a  traitor.  Their  characters  are  easily 
fixed,  and  under  these  short  descriptions  I  leave  them  for 
the  present. 

One  of  the  greatest  degrees  of  sentimental  union  which 
America  ever  knew,  was  in  denying  the  right  of  the  British 
parliament  "  to  bind  the  colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever." ' 
The  Declaration  is,  in  its  form,  an  almighty  one,  and  is  the 
loftiest  stretch  of  arbitrary  power  that  ever  one  set  of  men 
or  one  country  claimed  over  another.  Taxation  was  nothing 
more  than  the  putting  the  declared  right  into  practice  ;  and 
this  failing,  recourse  was  had  to  arms,  as  a  means  to  estab- 
lish both  the  right  and  the  practice,  or  to  answer  a  worse 
purpose,  which  will  be  mentioned  in  the  course  of  this 
number.  And  in  order  to  repay  themselves  the  expense  of 
an  army,  and  to  profit  by  their  own  injustice,  the  colonies 
were,  by  another  law,  declared  to  be  in  a  state  of  actual 
rebellion,  and  of  consequence  all  property  therein  would  fall 
to  the  conquerors. 

The  colonies,  on  their  part,  Jirst,  denied  the  right  ;  secondly, 
they  suspended  the  use  of  taxable  articles,  and  petitioned 
against  the  practice  of  taxation :  and  these  failing,  they, 
thirdly,  defended  their  property  by  force,  as  soon  as  it  was 
forcibly  invaded,  and,  in  answer  to  the  declaration  of  rebel- 

'  "That  the  King's  Majesty,  by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  Lords  spiritual 
and  temporal,  and  Commons  of  Great  Britain  in  Parliament  assembled,  had, 
hath,  and  of  right  ought  to  have  full  power  aud  authority  to  make  laws  and 
statutes  of  sufficient  force  and  validity  to  bind  the  colonies  and  people  of 
America,  subjects  of  the  crown  of  Great  Britain,  in  all  cases  whatsoever." 
Paragraph  first  of  the  Declaratory  Act  repealing  the  Stamp  Act,  February,  1766. 
— Editor. 


200  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


lion  and  non-protection,  published  their  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence and  right  of  self-protection. 

These,  in  a  few  words,  are  the  different  stages  of  the 
quarrel ;  and  the  parts  are  so  intimately  and  necessarily  con- 
nected with  each  other  as  to  admit  of  no  separation.  A 
person,  to  use  a  trite  phrase,  must  be  a  whig  or  a  tory  in  a 
lump.  His  feelings,  as  a  man,  may  be  wounded  ;  his  charity, 
as  a  Christian,  may  be  moved  ;  but  his  political  principles 
must  go  through  all  the  cases  on  one  side  or  the  other.  He 
cannot  be  a  whig  in  stage,  and  a  tory  in  that.  If  he  says 
he  is  against  the  united  independence  of  the  continent,  he  is 
to  all  intents  and  purposes  against  her  in  all  the  rest ;  be- 
cause this  last  comprehends  the  whole.  And  he  may  just  as 
well  say,  that  Britain  was  right  in  declaring  us  rebels ;  right 
in  taxing  us ;  and  right  in  declaring  her  "  right  to  bind  the 
colonies  in  all  cases  whatsoever."  It  signifies  nothing  what 
neutral  ground,  of  his  own  creating,  he  may  skulk  upon  for 
shelter,  for  the  quarrel  in  no  stage  of  it  hath  afforded  any 
such  ground ;  and  either  we  or  Britain  are  absolutely  right 
or  absolutely  wrong  through  the  whole. 

Britain,  like  a  gamester  nearly  ruined,  hath  now  put  all 
her  losses  into  one  bet,  and  is  playing  a  desperate  game  for 
the  total.  If  she  wins  it,  she  wins  from  me  my  life;  she 
wins  the  continent  as  the  forfeited  property  of  rebels ;  the 
right  of  taxing  those  that  are  left  as  reduced  subjects  ;  and 
the  power  of  binding  them  slaves :  and  the  single  die  which 
determines  this  unparalleled  event  is,  whether  we  support 
our  independence  or  she  overturn  it.  This  is  coming  to  the 
point  at  once.  Here  is  the  touchstone  to  try  men  by. 
He  that  is  not  a  supporter  of  the  independent  states  of  Ainerica 
in  the  same  degree  that  his  religious  and  political  principles 
would  suffer  him  to  support  the  government  of  any  other  coun- 
try, of  which  he  called  himself  a  subject,  is,  in  the  American 
sense  of  the  word,  A  TORY  ;  and  the  instant  that  he  endeavors 
to  bring  his  toryism  into  practice,  he  becomes  A  TRAITOR.  The 
first  can  only  be  detected  by  a  general  test,  and  the  law  hath 
already  provided  for  the  latter. 

It  is  unnatural  and  impolitic  to  admit  men  who  would 


^777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


20 1 


root  up  our  independence  to  have  any  share  in  our  legisla- 
tion, either  as  electors  or  representatives ;  because  the  sup- 
port of  our  independence  rests,  in  a  great  measure,  on  the 
vigor  and  purity  of  our  public  bodies.  Would  Britain,  even 
in  time  of  peace,  much  less  in  war,  suffer  an  election  to  be 
carried  by  men  who  professed  themselves  to  be  not  her 
subjects,  or  allow  such  to  sit  in  parliament?    Certainly  not. 

But  there  are  a  certain  species  of  tories  with  whom  con- 
science or  principle  hath  nothing  to  do,  and  who  are  so  from 
avarice  only.  Some  of  the  first  fortunes  on  the  continent, 
on  the  part  of  the  whigs,  are  staked  on  the  issue  of  our 
present  measures.  And  shall  disaffection  only  be  rewarded 
with  security  ?  Can  any  thing  be  a  greater  inducement  to  a 
miserly  man,  than  the  hope  of  making  his  mammon  safe  ? 
And  though  the  scheme  be  fraught  with  every  character  of 
folly,  yet,  so  long  as  he  supposes,  that  by  doing  nothing 
materially  criminal  against  America  on  one  part,  and  by  ex- 
pressing his  private  disapprobation  against  independence,  as 
palliative  with  the  enemy,  on  the  other  part,  he  stands  in  a 
safe  line  between  both ;  while,  I  say,  this  ground  be  suffered 
to  remain,  craft,  and  the  spirit  of  avarice,  will  point  it  out, 
and  men  will  not  be  wanting  to  fill  up  this  most  contemptible 
of  all  characters. 

These  men,  ashamed  to  own  the  sordid  cause  from  whence 
their  disaffection  springs,  add  thereby  meanness  to  mean- 
ness, by  endeavoring  to  shelter  themselves  under  the  mask 
of  hypocrisy  ;  that  is,  they  had  rather  be  thought  to  be  tories 
from  some  kind  of  principle,  than  tories  by  having  no  princi- 
ple at  all.  But  till  such  time  as  they  can  show  some  real 
reason,  natural,  political,  or  conscientious,  on  which  their  ob- 
jections to  independence  are  founded,  we  are  not  obliged  to 
give  them  credit  for  being  tories  of  the  first  stamp,  but  must 
set  them  down  as  tories  of  the  last. 

In  the  second  number  of  the  Crisis,  I  endeavored  to  show 
the  impossibility  of  the  enemy's  making  any  conquest  of 
America,  that  nothing  was  wanting  on  our  part  but  patience 
and  perseverance,  and  that,  with  these  virtues,  our  success, 
as  far  as  human  speculation  could  discern,  seemed  as  certain 


202  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


as  fate.  But  as  there  are  many  among  us,  who,  influenced 
by  others,  have  regularly  gone  back  from  the  principles  they 
once  held,  in  proportion  as  we  have  gone  forward  ;  and  as  it 
is  the  unfortunate  lot  of  many  a  good  man  to  live  within  the 
neighborhood  of  disaffected  ones  ;  I  shall,  therefore,  for  the 
sake  of  confirming  the  one  and  recovering  the  other,  endeavor, 
in  the  space  of  a  page  or  two,  to  go  over  some  of  the  leading 
principles  in  support  of  independence.  It  is  a  much  pleas- 
anter  task  to  prevent  vice  than  to  punish  it,  and,  however  our 
tempers  may  be  gratified  by  resentment,  or  our  national 
expenses  eased  by  forfeited  estates,  harmony  and  friendship 
is,  nevertheless,  the  happiest  condition  a  country  can  be 
blest  with. 

The  principal  arguments  in  support  of  independence  may 
be  comprehended  under  the  four  following  heads. 

1st,  The  natural  right  of  the  continent  to  independence. 
2d,  Her  interest  in  being  independent. 
3d,  The  necessity, — and 

4th,  The  moral  advantages  arising  therefrom. 

I.  The  natural  right  of  the  continent  to  independence,  is 
a  point  which  never  yet  was  called  in  question.  It  will  not 
even  admit  of  a  debate.  To  deny  such  a  right,  would  be  a 
kind  of  atheism  against  nature  :  and  the  best  answer  to  such 
an  objection  would  be,  "  The  fool  hath  said  in  his  heart  there 
is  no  God." 

II.  The  interest  of  the  continent  in  being  independent  is 
a  point  as  clearly  right  as  the  former.  America,  by  her  own 
internal  industry,  and  unknown  to  all  the  powers  of  Europe, 
was,  at  the  beginning  of  the  dispute,  arrived  at  a  pitch  of 
greatness,  trade  and  population,  beyond  which  it  was  the 
interest  of  Britain  not  to  suffer  her  to  pass,  lest  she  should 
grow  too  powerful  to  be  kept  subordinate.  She  began  to 
view  this  country  with  the  same  uneasy  malicious  eye,  with 
which  a  covetous  guardian  would  view  his  ward,  whose  estate 
he  had  been  enriching  himself  by  for  twenty  years,  and  saw 
him  just  arriving  at  manhood.  And  America  owes  no  more 
to  Britain  for  her  present  maturity,  than  the  ward  would  to 
the  guardian  for  being  twenty-one  years  of  age.  That  Amer- 


1  777]  T'//^'  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  203 


ica  hath  flourished  at  the  time  she  was  under  the  government 
of  Britain,  is  true ;  but  there  is  every  natural  reason  to  be- 
lieve, that  had  she  been  an  independent  country  from  the 
first  settlement  thereof,  uncontrolled  by  any  foreign  power, 
free  to  make  her  own  laws,  regulate  and  encourage  her  own 
commerce,  she  had  by  this  time  been  of  much  greater  worth 
than  now.  The  case  is  simply  this  :  the  first  settlers  in  the 
different  colonies  were  left  to  shift  for  themselves,  unnoticed 
and  unsupported  by  any  European  government :  but  as  the 
tyranny  and  persecution  of  the  old  world  daily  drove  num- 
bers to  the  new,  and  as,  by  the  favor  of  heaven  on  their 
industry  and  perseverance,  they  grew  into  importance,  so,  in 
a  like  degree,  they  became  an  object  of  profit  to  the  greedy 
eyes  of  Europe.  It  was  impossible,  in  this  state  of  infancy, 
however  thriving  and  promising,  that  they  could  resist  the 
power  of  any  armed  invader  that  should  seek  to  bring  them 
under  his  authority.  In  this  situation,  Britain  thought  it 
worth  her  while  to  claim  them,  and  the  continent  received 
and  acknowledged  the  claimer.  It  was,  in  reality,  of  no 
very  great  importance  who  was  her  master,  seeing,  that  from 
the  force  and  ambition  of  the  different  powers  of  Europe, 
she  must,  till  she  acquired  strength  enough  to  assert  her 
own  right,  acknowledge  some  one.  As  well,  perhaps,  Britain 
as  another ;  and  it  might  have  been  as  well  to  have  been 
under  the  states  of  Holland  as  any.  The  same  hopes  of 
engrossing  and  profiting  by  her  trade,  by  not  oppressing  it 
too  much,  would  have  operated  alike  with  any  master,  and 
produced  to  the  colonies  the  same  effects.  The  clamour 
of  protection,  likewise,  was  all  a  farce  ;  because,  in  order  to 
make  that  protection  necessary,  she  must  first,  by  her  own 
quarrels,  create  us  enemies.    Hard  terms  indeed  ! 

To  know  whether  it  be  the  interest  of  the  continent  to  be 
independent,  we  need  only  ask  this  easy,  simple  question  : 
Is  it  the  interest  of  a  man  to  be  a  boy  all  his  life  ?  The  an- 
swer to  one  will  be  the  answer  to  both.  America  hath  been 
one  continued  scene  of  legislative  contention  from  the  first 
king's  representative  to  the  last ;  and  this  was  unavoidably 
founded  in  the  natural  opposition  of  interest  between  the 


204  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


old  country  and  the  new.  A  governor  sent  from  England, 
or  receiving  his  authority  therefrom,  ought  never  to  have 
been  considered  in  any  other  light  than  that  of  a  genteel 
commissioned  spy,  whose  private  business  was  information, 
and  his  public  business  a  kind  of  civilized  oppression.  In  the 
first  of  these  characters  he  was  to  watch  the  tempers,  senti- 
ments and  disposition  of  the  people,  the  growth  of  trade, 
and  the  increase  of  private  fortunes ;  and,  in  the  latter,  to 
suppress  all  such  acts  of  the  assemblies,  however  beneficial 
to  the  people,  which  did  not  directly  or  indirectly  throw 
some  increase  of  power  or  profit  into  the  hands  of  those 
that  sent  him. 

America,  till  now,  could  never  be  called  a  free  country,  be- 
cause her  legislation  depended  on  the  will  of  a  man  three 
thousand  miles  distant,  whose  interest  was  in  opposition  to 
ours,  and  who,  by  a  single  "  no,"  could  forbid  what  law  he 
pleased. 

The  freedom  of  trade,  likewise,  is,  to  a  trading  country, an 
article  of  such  importance,  that  the  principal  source  of 
wealth  depends  upon  it ;  and  it  is  impossible  that  any  coun- 
try can  flourish,  as  it  otherwise  might  do,  whose  commerce  is 
engrossed,  cramped  and  fettered  by  the  laws  and  mandates 
of  another — yet  these  evils,  and  more  than  I  can  here  enu- 
merate, the  continent  has  suffered  by  being  under  the  gov- 
ernment of  England.  By  an  independence  we  clear  the 
whole  at  once — put  an  end  to  the  business  of  unanswered 
petitions  and  fruitless  remonstrances — exchange  Britain  for 
Europe — shake  hands  with  the  world — live  at  peace  with  the 
world — and  trade  to  any  market  where  we  can  buy  and  sell. 

III.  The  necessity,  likewise,  of  being  independent,  even 
before  it  was  declared,  became  so  evident  and  important, 
that  the  continent  ran  the  risk  of  being  ruined  every  day 
that  she  delayed  it.  There  was  reason  to  believe  that  Brit- 
ain would  endeavor  to  make  an  European  matter  of  it, 
and,  rather  than  lose  the  whole,  would  dismember  it,  like 
Poland,  and  dispose  of  her  several  claims  to  the  highest  bid- 
der. Genoa,  failing  in  her  attempts  to  reduce  Corsica,  made 
a  sale  of  it  to  the  French,  and  such  trafficks  have  been  com- 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


205 


mon  in  the  old  world.  We  had  at  that  time  no  ambassador 
in  any  part  of  Europe,  to  counteract  her  negociations,  and 
by  that  means  she  had  the  range  of  every  foreign  court  un- 
contradicted on  our  part.  We  even  knew  nothing  of  the 
treaty  for  the  Hessians  till  it  was  concluded,  and  the  troops 
ready  to  embark.  Had  we  been  independent  before,  we 
had  probably  prevented  her  obtaining  them.  We  had  no 
credit  abroad,  because  of  our  rebellious  dependancy.  Our 
ships  could  claim  no  protection  in  foreign  ports,  because  we 
afforded  them  no  justifiable  reason  for  granting  it  to  us. 
The  calling  ourselves  subjects,  and  at  the  same  time  fight- 
ing against  the  power  which  we  acknowledged,  was  a  dan- 
gerous precedent  to  all  Europe.  If  the  grievances  justified 
the  taking  up  arms,  they  justified  our  separation  ;  if  they 
did  not  justify  our  separation,  neither  could  they  justify  our 
taking  up  arms.  All  Europe  was  interested  in  reducing  us 
as  rebels,  and  all  Europe  (or  the  greatest  part  at  least)  is  in- 
terested in  supporting  us  as  independent  states.  At  home 
our  condition  was  still  worse  ;  our  currency  had  no  founda- 
tion, and  the  fall  of  it  would  have  ruined  whig  and  tory 
alike.  We  had  no  other  law  than  a  kind  of  moderated  pas- 
sion ;  no  other  civil  power  than  an  honest  mob  ;  and  no 
other  protection  than  the  temporary  attachment  of  one  man 
to  another.  Had  independence  been  delayed  a  few  months 
longer,  this  continent  would  have  been  plunged  into  irrecov- 
erable confusion :  some  violent  for  it,  some  against  it,  till, 
in  the  general  cabal,  the  rich  would  have  been  ruined,  and 
the  poor  destroyed.  It  is  to  independence  that  every  tory 
owes  the  present  safety  which  he  lives  in  ;  for  by  that,  and 
that  only,  we  emerged  from  a  state  of  dangerous  suspense, 
and  became  a  regular  people. 

The  necessity,  likewise,  of  being  independent,  had  there 
been  no  rupture  between  Britain  and  America,  would,  in  a 
little  time,  have  brought  one  on.  The  increasing  impor- 
tance of  commerce,  the  weight  and  perplexity  of  legislation, 
and  the  entangled  state  of  European  politics,  would  daily 
have  shown  to  the  continent  the  impossibility  of  continuing 
subordinate ;  for,  after  the  coolest  reflections  on  the  matter, 


206  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


this  must  be  allowed,  that  Britain  was  too  jealous  of  America 
to  govern  it  justly  ;  too  ignorant  of  it  to  govern  it  well ;  and 
too  far  distant  from  it  to  govern  it  at  all. 

IV.  But  what  weigh  most  with  all  men  of  serious  reflec- 
tion are,  the  moral  advantages  arising  from  independence : 
war  and  desolation  have  become  the  trade  of  the  old  world ; 
and  America  neither  could  nor  can  be  under  the  govern- 
ment of  Britain  without  becoming  a  sharer  of  her  guilt,  and 
a  partner  in  all  the  dismal  commerce  of  death.  The  spirit 
of  duelling,  extended  on  a  national  scale,  is  a  proper  char- 
acter for  European  wars.  They  have  seldom  any  other 
motive  than  pride,  or  any  other  object  than  fame.  The 
conquerors  and  the  conquered  are  generally  ruined  alike, 
and  the  chief  difference  at  last  is,  that  the  one  marches 
home  with  his  honors,  and  the  other  without  them.  'Tis 
the  natural  temper  of  the  English  to  fight  for  a  feather,  if 
they  suppose  that  feather  to  be  an  affront ;  and  America, 
without  the  right  of  asking  why,  must  have  abetted  in 
every  quarrel,  and  abided  by  its  fate.  It  is  a  shocking  situ- 
ation to  live  in,  that  one  country  must  be  brought  into  all 
the  wars  of  another,  whether  the  measure  be  right  or  wrong, 
or  whether  she  will  or  not ;  yet  this,  in  the  fullest  extent, 
was,  and  ever  would  be,  the  unavoidable  consequence  of  the 
connexion.  Surely  the  Quakers  forgot  their  own  principles 
when,  in  their  late  Testimony,  they  called  this  connexion, 
with  these  military  and  miserable  appendages  hanging  to  it 
— "  the  happy  constitution!' 

Britain,  for  centuries  past,  has  been  nearly  fifty  years  out 
of  every  hundred  at  war  with  some  power  or  other.  It  cer- 
tainly ought  to  be  a  conscientious  as  well  as  political  consid- 
eration with  America,  not  to  dip  her  hands  in  the  bloody 
work  of  Europe.  Our  situation  affords  us  a  retreat  from 
their  cabals,  and  the  present  happy  union  of  the  states  bids 
fair  for  extirpating  the  future  use  of  arms  from  one  quarter 
of  the  world  ;  yet  such  have  been  the  irreligious  politics  of 
the  present  leaders  of  the  Quakers,  that,  for  the  sake  of  they 
scarce  know  what,  they  would  cut  off  every  hope  of  such  a 
blessing  by  tying  this  continent  to  Britain,  like  Hector  to 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


207 


the  chariot  wheel  of  Achilles,  to  be  dragged  through  all  the 
miseries  of  endless  European  wars. 

The  connexion,  viewed  from  this  ground,  is  distressing  to 
every  man  who  has  the  feelings  of  humanity.  By  having 
Britain  for  our  master,  we  became  enemies  to  the  greatest 
part  of  Europe,  and  they  to  us :  and  the  consequence  was 
war  inevitable.  By  being  our  own  masters,  independent  of 
any  foreign  one,  we  have  Europe  for  our  friends,  and  the 
prospect  of  an  endless  peace  among  ourselves.  Those  who 
were  advocates  for  the  British  government  over  these  colo- 
nies, were  obliged  to  limit  both  their  arguments  and  their 
ideas  to  the  period  of  an  European  peace  only :  the  moment 
Britain  became  plunged  in  war,  every  supposed  convenience 
to  us  vanished,  and  all  we  could  hope  for  was  not  to  be 
ruined.  Could  this  be  a  desirable  condition  for  a  young 
country  to  be  in  ? 

Had  the  French  pursued  their  fortune  immediately  after 
the  defeat  of  Braddock  last  war,  this  city  and  province  had 
then  experienced  the  woful  calamities  of  being  a  British  sub- 
ject. A  scene  of  the  same  kind  might  happen  again  ;  for 
America,  considered  as  a  subject  to  the  crown  of  Britain, 
would  ever  have  been  the  seat  of  war,  and  the  bone  of  con- 
tention between  the  two  powers. 

On  the  whole,  if  the  future  expulsion  of  arms  from  one 
quarter  of  the  world  would  be  a  desirable  object  to  a  peace- 
able man ;  if  the  freedom  of  trade  to  every  part  of  it  can 
engage  the  attention  of  a  man  of  business ;  if  the  support  or 
fall  of  millions  of  currency  can  affect  our  interests;  if  the 
entire  possession  of  estates,  by  cutting  off  the  lordly  claims 
of  Britain  over  the  soil,  deserves  the  regard  of  landed  prop- 
erty ;  and  if  the  right  of  making  our  own  laws,  uncontrolled 
by  royal  or  ministerial  spies  or  mandates,  be  worthy  our  care 
as  freemen ; — then  are  all  men  interested  in  the  support  of 
independence  ;  and  may  he  that  supports  it  not,  be  driven 
from  the  blessing,  and  live  unpitied  beneath  the  servile  suf- 
ferings of  scandalous  subjection ! 

We  have  been  amused  with  the  tales  of  ancient  wonders  ; 
we  have  read,  and  wept  over  the  histories  of  other  nations : 


2o8 


THE   IVRI TINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


applauded,  censured,  or  pitied,  as  their  cases  affected  us. 
The  fortitude  and  patience  of  the  sufferers — the  justness  of 
their  cause — the  weight  of  their  oppressions  and  oppressors 
— the  object  to  be  saved  or  lost — with  all  the  consequences 
of  a  defeat  or  a  conquest — have,  in  the  hour  of  sympathy, 
bewitched  our  hearts,  and  chained  it  to  their  fate :  but 
where  is  the  power  that  ever  made  war  upon  petitioners? 
Or  where  is  the  war  on  which  a  world  was  staked  till  now  ? 

We  may  not,  perhaps,  be  wise  enough  to  make  all  the 
advantages  we  ought  of  our  independence  ;  but  they  are, 
nevertheless,  marked  and  presented  to  us  with  every  charac- 
ter of  great  and  good,  and  worthy  the  hand  of  him  who 
sent  them.  I  look  through  the  present  trouble  to  a  time  of 
tranquillity,  when  we  shall  have  it  in  our  power  to  set  an 
example  of  peace  to  all  the  world.  Were  the  Quakers  really 
impressed  and  influenced  by  the  quiet  principles  they  pro- 
fess to  hold,  they  would,  however  they  might  disapprove 
the  means,  be  the  first  of  all  men  to  approve  of  independence, 
because,  by  separating  ourselves  from  the  cities  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah,  it  affords  an  opportunity  never  given  to 
man  before  of  carrying  their  favourite  principle  of  peace 
into  general  practice,  by  establishing  governments  that  shall 
hereafter  exist  without  wars.  O  !  ye  fallen,  cringing,  priest- 
and-Pemberton-ridden  people  !  What  more  can  we  say  of 
ye  than  that  a  religious  Quaker  is  a  valuable  character,  and 
a  political  Quaker  a  real  Jesuit. 

Having  thus  gone  over  some  of  the  principal  points  in 
support  of  independence,  I  must  now  request  the  reader  to 
return  back  with  me  to  the  period  when  it  first  began  to  be 
a  public  doctrine,  and  to  examine  the  progress  it  has  made 
among  the  various  classes  of  men.  The  area  I  mean  to 
begin  at,  is  the  breaking  out  of  hostilities,  April  19th,  1775. 
Until  this  event  happened,  the  continent  seemed  to  view 
the  dispute  as  a  kind  of  law-suit  for  a  matter  of  right, 
litigating  between  the  old  country  and  the  new  ;  and  she 
felt  the  same  kind  and  degree  of  horror,  as  if  she  had  seen 
an  oppressive  plaintiff,  at  the  head  of  a  band  of  ruffians, 
enter  the  court,  while  the  cause  was  before  it,  and  put  the 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


209 


judge,  the  jury,  the  defendant  and  his  counsel,  to  the  sword. 
Perhaps  a  more  heart-felt  convulsion  never  reached  a 
country  with  the  same  degree  of  power  and  rapidity  before, 
and  never  may  again.  Pity  for  the  sufferers,  mixed  with 
indignation  at  the  violence,  and  heightened  with  apprehen- 
sions of  undergoing  the  same  fate,  made  the  affair  of  Lexing- 
ton the  afTair  of  the  continent.  Every  part  of  it  felt  the 
shock,  and  all  vibrated  together.  A  general  promotion  of 
sentiment  took  place :  those  who  had  drank  deeply  into 
whiggish  principles,  that  is,  the  right  and  necessity  not  only 
of  opposing,  but  wholly  setting  aside  the  power  of  the 
crown  as  soon  as  it  became  practically  dangerous  (for  in 
theory  it  was  always  so),  stepped  into  the  first  stage  of  inde- 
pendence ;  while  another  class  of  whigs,  equally  sound  in 
principle,  but  not  so  sanguine  in  enterprise,  attached  them- 
selves the  stronger  to  the  cause,  and  fell  close  in  with  the 
rear  of  the  former ;  their  partition  was  a  mere  point.  Num- 
bers of  the  moderate  men,  whose  chief  fault,  at  that  time, 
arose  from  entertaining  a  better  opinion  of  Britain  than  she 
deserved,  convinced  now  of  their  mistake,  gave  her  up,  and 
publicly  declared  themselves  good  whigs.  While  the  tories, 
seeing  it  was  no  longer  a  laughing  matter,  either  sank  into 
silent  obscurity,  or  contented  themselves  with  coming  forth 
and  abusing  General  Gage :  not  a  single  advocate  appeared 
to  justify  the  action  of  that  day ;  it  seemed  to  appear  to 
every  one  with  the  same  magnitude,  struck  every  one  with 
the  same  force,  and  created  in  every  one  the  same  abhor- 
rence. From  this  period  we  may  date  the  growth  of  inde- 
pendence. 

If  the  many  circumstances  which  happened  at  this  memor- 
able time,  be  taken  in  one  view,  and  compared  with  each 
other,  they  will  justify  a  conclusion  which  seems  not  to  have 
been  attended  to,  I  mean  a  fixed  design  in  the  king  and 
ministry  of  driving  America  into  arms,  in  order  that  they 
might  be  furnished  with  a  pretence  for  seizing  the  whole 
continent,  as  the  immediate  property  of  the  crown.  A  noble 
plunder  for  hungry  courtiers  ! 

It  ought  to  be  remembered,  that  the  first  petition  from 

VOL.  I. — 13 


2IO  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  \m11 


the  congress  was  at  this  time  unanswered  on  the  part  of  the 
British  king.  That  the  motion,  called  lord  North's  motion, 
of  the  20th  of  February,  1775,  arrived  in  America  the  latter 
end  of  March.  This  motion  was  to  be  laid,  by  the  several 
governors  then  in  being,  before  the  assembly  of  each  pro- 
vince ;  and  the  first  assembly  before  which  it  was  laid,  was 
the  assembly  of  Pennsylvania,  in  May  following.  This 
being  a  just  state  of  the  case,  I  then  ask,  why  were  hostili- 
ties commenced  between  the  time  of  passing  the  resolve  in 
the  house  of  commons,  of  the  20th  of  February,  and  the 
time  of  the  assemblies  meeting  to  deliberate  upon  it  ?  De- 
grading and  famous  as  that  motion  was,  there  is  nevertheless 
reason  to  believe  that  the  king  and  his  adherents  were  afraid 
the  colonies  would  agree  to  it,  and  lest  they  should,  took 
effectual  care  they  should  not,  by  provoking  them  with  hos- 
tilities in  the  interim.  They  had  not  the  least  doubt  at  that 
time  of  conquering  America  at  one  blow;  and  what  they 
■expected  to  get  by  a  conquest  being  infinitely  greater  than 
any  thing  they  could  hope  to  get  either  by  taxation  or  ac- 
commodation, they  seemed  determined  to  prevent  even  the 
possibility  of  hearing  each  other,  lest  America  should  disap- 
point their  greedy  hopes  of  the  whole,  by  listening  even  to 
their  own  terms.  On  the  one  hand  they  refused  to  hear 
the  petition  of  the  continent,  and  on  the  other  hand  took 
effectual  care  the  continent  should  not  hear  them. 

That  the  motion  of  the  20th  February  and  the  orders  for 
commencing  hostilities  were  both  concerted  by  the  same 
person  or  persons,  and  not  the  latter  by  general  Gage,  as  was 
falsely  imagined  at  first,  is  evident  from  an  extract  of  a  letter 
of  his  to  the  administration,  read  among  other  papers  in  the 
house  of  commons;  in  which  he  informs  his  masters,  "  That 
though  their  idea  of  his  disarming  certaiji  counties  was  a  right 
one,  yet  it  required  him  to  be  master  of  the  country,  in  order 
to  enable  hhn  to  execute  it."  This  was  prior  to  the  com- 
mencement of  hostilities,  and  consequently  before  the  motion 
of  the  20th  February  could  be  deliberated  on  by  the  several 
assemblies. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  asked,  why  was  the  motion  passed,  if 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


211 


there  was  at  the  same  time  a  plan  to  aggravate  the  Americans 
not  to  Hsten  to  it  ?  Lord  North  assigned  one  reason  himself, 
which  was  a  hope  of  dividing  them.  This  was  publicly  tempt- 
ing them  to  reject  it  ;  that  if,  in  case  the  injury  of  arms  should 
fail  in  provoking  them  sufficiently,  the  insult  of  such  a 
declaration  might  fill  it  up.  But  by  passing  the  motion  and 
getting  it  afterwards  rejected  in  America,  it  enabled  them, 
in  their  wicked  idea  of  politics,  among  other  things,  to  hold 
up  the  colonies  to  foreign  powers,  with  every  possible  mark 
of  disobedience  and  rebellion.  They  had  applied  to  those 
powers  not  to  supply  the  continent  with  arms,  ammunition, 
etc.,  and  it  was  necessary  they  should  incense  them  against 
us,  by  assigning  on  their  own  part  some  seeming  reputable 
reason  why.  By  dividing,  it  had  a  tendency  to  weaken  the 
states,  and  likewise  to  perplex  the  adherents  of  America  in 
England.  But  the  principal  scheme,  and  that  which  has 
marked  their  character  in  every  part  of  their  conduct,  was  a 
design  of  precipitating  the  colonies  into  a  state  which  they 
might  afterwards  deem  rebellion,  and,  under  that  pretence, 
put  an  end  to  all  future  complaints,  petitions  and  remon- 
strances, by  seizing  the  whole  at  once.  They  had  ravaged 
one  part  of  the  globe,  till  it  could  glut  them  no  longer  ;  their 
prodigality  required  new  plunder,  and  through  the  East 
India  article  tea  they  hoped  to  transfer  their  rapine  from 
that  quarter  of  the  world  to  this.  Every  designed  quarrel 
had  its  pretence ;  and  the  same  barbarian  avarice  accompanied 
the  plant  to  America,  which  ruined  the  country  that  pro- 
duced it. 

That  men  never  turn  rogues  without  turning  fools  is  a 
maxim,  sooner  or  later,  universally  true.  The  commence- 
ment of  hostilities,  being  in  the  beginning  of  April,  was,  of 
all  times  the  worst  chosen :  the  congress  were  to  meet  the 
tenth  of  May  following,  and  the  distress  the  continent  felt  at 
this  unparalleled  outrage  gave  a  stability  to  that  body  which 
no  other  circumstance  could  have  done.  It  suppressed  too 
all  inferior  debates,  and  bound  them  together  by  a  neces- 
sitous affection,  without  giving  them  time  to  differ  upon 
trifles.    The  suffering  likewise  softened  the  whole  body  of 


212  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


the  people  into  a  degree  of  pliability,  which  laid  the  principal 
foundation-stone  of  union,  order,  and  government ;  and 
which,  at  any  other  time,  might  only  have  fretted  and  then 
faded  away  unnoticed  and  unimproved  :  but  Providence,  who 
best  knows  how  to  time  her  misfortunes  as  well  as  her  im- 
mediate favors,  chose  this  to  be  the  time,  and  who  dare  dis- 
pute it  ? 

It  did  not  seem  the  disposition  of  the  people,  at  this  crisis, 
to  heap  petition  upon  petition,  while  the  former  remained 
unanswered  :  the  measure  however  was  carried  in  congress, 
and  a  second  petition  was  sent ;  of  which  I  shall  only  remark 
that  it  was  submissive  even  to  a  dangerous  fault,  because 
the  prayer  of  it  appealed  solely  to  what  it  called  the  pre- 
rogative of  the  crown,  while  the  matter  in  dispute  was  con- 
fessedly constitutional.  But  even  this  petition,  flattering  as 
it  was,  was  still  not  so  harmonious  as  the  chink  of  cash,  and 
consequently  not  sufficiently  grateful  to  the  tyrant  and  his 
ministry.  From  every  circumstance  it  is  evident,  that  it  was 
the  determination  of  the  British  court  to  have  nothing  to  do 
with  America  but  to  conquer  her  fully  and  absolutely.  They 
were  certain  of  success,  and  the  field  of  battle  was  the  only 
place  of  treaty.  I  am  confident  there  are  thousands  and  tens 
of  thousands  in  America  who  wonder  now  that  they  should 
ever  have  thought  otherwise  ;  but  the  sin  of  that  day  was  the 
sin  of  civility ;  yet  it  operated  against  our  present  good  in 
the  same  manner  that  a  civil  opinion  of  the  devil  would  against 
our  future  peace. 

Independence  was  a  doctrine  scarce  and  rare,  even  towards 
the  conclusion  of  the  year  1775  ;  all  our  politics  had  been 
founded  on  the  hope  of  expectation  of  making  the  matter 
up — a  hope,  which,  though  general  on  the  side  of  America, 
had  never  entered  the  head  or  heart  of  the  British  court. 
Their  hope  was  conquest  and  confiscation.  Good  heavens! 
what  volumes  of  thanks  does  America  owe  to  Britain  ?  What 
infinite  obligation  to  the  tool  that  fills,  with  paradoxical 
vacancy,  the  throne !  Nothing  but  the  sharpest  essence  of 
villany,  compounded  with  the  strongest  distillation  of  folly, 
could  have  produced  a  menstruum  that  would  have  effected 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


213 


a  separation.  The  congress  in  1774  administered  an  abortive 
medicine  to  independence,  by  prohibiting  the  importation 
of  goods,  and  the  succeeding  congress  rendered  the  dose 
still  more  dangerous  by  continuing  it.  Had  independence 
been  a  settled  system  with  America,  (as  Britain  has  ad- 
vanced,) she  ought  to  have  doubled  her  importation,  and 
prohibited  in  some  degree  her  exportation.  And  this  single 
circumstance  is  sufficient  to  acquit  America  before  any  jury 
of  nations,  of  having  a  continental  plan  of  independence  in 
view :  a  charge  which,  had  it  been  true,  would  have  been 
honorable,  but  is  so  grossly  false,  that  either  the  amazing 
ignorance  or  the  wilful  dishonesty  of  the  British  court  is 
effectually  proved  by  it. 

The  second  petition,  like  the  first,  produced  no  answer ; 
it  was  scarcely  acknowledged  to  have  been  received ;  the 
British  court  were  too  determined  in  their  villainy  even  to 
act  it  artfully,  and  in  their  rage  for  conquest  neglected  the 
necessary  subtleties  for  obtaining  it.  They  might  have 
divided,  distracted  and  played  a  thousand  tricks  with  us, 
had  they  been  as  cunning  as  they  were  cruel. 

This  last  indignity  gave  a  new  spring  to  independence. 
Those  who  knew  the  savage  obstinacy  of  the  king,  and  the 
jobbing,  gambling  spirit  of  the  court,  predicted  the  fate  of 
the  petition,  as  soon  as  it  was  sent  from  America ;  for  the 
men  being  known,  their  measures  were  easily  foreseen.  As 
politicians  we  ought  not  so  much  to  ground  our  hopes  on  the 
reasonableness  of  the  thing  we  ask,  as  on  the  reasonableness 
of  the  person  of  whom  we  ask  it :  who  would  expect  discre- 
tion from  a  fool,  candor  from  a  tyrant,  or  justice  from  a 
villain  ? 

As  every  prospect  of  accommodation  seemed  now  to  fail 
fast,  men  began  to  think  seriously  on  the  matter  ;  and  their 
reason  being  thus  stripped  of  the  false  hope  which  had  long 
encompassed  it,  became  approachable  by  fair  debate :  yet 
still  the  bulk  of  the  people  hesitated  ;  they  startled  at  the 
novelty  of  independence,  without  once  considering  that  our 
getting  into  arms  at  first  was  a  more  extraordinary  novelty, 
and  that  all  other  nations  had  gone  through  the  work  of  in- 


214  "^^^   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


dependence  before  us.  They  doubted  likewise  the  ability 
of  the  continent  to  support  it,  without  reflecting  that  it  re- 
quired the  same  force  to  obtain  an  accommodation  by  arms 
as  an  independence.  If  the  one  was  acquirable,  the  other 
was  the  same  ;  because,  to  accomplish  either,  it  was  neces- 
sary that  our  strength  should  be  too  great  for  Britain  to 
subdue ;  and  it  was  too  unreasonable  to  suppose,  that  with 
the  power  of  being  masters,  we  should  submit  to  be  servants.* 
Their  caution  at  this  time  was  exceedingly  misplaced  ;  for 
if  they  were  able  to  defend  their  property  and  maintain  their 
rights  by  arms,  they,  consequently,  were  able  to  defend  and 
support  their  independence  ;  and  in  proportion  as  these  men 
saw  the  necessity  and  correctness  of  the  measure,  they  hon- 
estly and  openly  declared  and  adopted  it,  and  the  part  that 
they  had  acted  since  has  done  them  honor  and  fully  estab- 
lished their  characters.  Error  in  opinion  has  this  peculiar 
advantage  with  it,  that  the  foremost  point  of  the  contrary 
ground  may  at  any  time  be  reached  by  the  sudden  exertion 
of  a  thought  ;  and  it  frequently  happens  in  sentimental  dif- 
ferences, that  some  striking  circumstance,  or  some  forcible 
reason  quickly  conceived,  will  effect  in  an  instant  what 
neither  argument  nor  example  could  produce  in  an  age. 
I  find  it  impossible  in  the  small  compass  I  am  limited  to, 

*  In  this  state  of  political  suspense  the  pamphlet  Common  Sense  made  its 
appearance,  and  the  success  it  met  with  does  not  become  me  to  mention. 
Dr.  I'ranklin,  Mr.  Samuel  and  John  Adams,  were  severally  spoken  of  as  the 
supposed  author.  I  had  not,  at  that  time,  the  pleasure  either  of  personally  know- 
ing or  being  known  to  the  two  last  gentlemen.  The  favour  of  Dr.  Franklin's 
friendship  I  possessed  in  England,  and  my  introduction  to  this  part  of  the  world 
was  through  his  patronage.  I  happened,  when  a  school-boy,  to  pick  up  a 
pleasing  natural  history  of  Virginia,  and  my  inclination  from  that  day  of  seeing 
the  western  side  of  the  Atlantic  never  left  me.  In  October,  1775,  Dr.  Franklin 
proposed  giving  me  such  materials  as  were  in  his  hands,  towards  completing  a 
history  of  the  present  transactions,  and  seemed  desirous  of  having  the  first 
volume  out  the  next  spring.  I  had  then  formed  the  outlines  of  Common  Sense, 
and  finished  nearly  the  first  part  ;  and  as  I  supposed  the  doctor's  design  in  get- 
ting out  a  history,  was  to  open  the  new  year  with  a  new  system,  I  expected  to 
surprise  him  with  a  production  on  that  subject,  much  earlier  than  he  thought  of ; 
and  without  informing  him  what  I  was  doing,  got  it  ready  for  the  press  as 
fast  as  I  conveniently  could,  and  sent  him  the  first  pamphlet  that  was  printed 
off. — A  uthor. 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


215 


to  trace  out  the  progress  which  independence  has  made  on 
the  minds  of  the  different  classes  of  men,  and  the  several 
reasons  by  which  they  were  moved.  With  some,  it  was  a 
passionate  abhorrence  against  the  king  of  England  and  his 
ministry,  as  a  set  of  savages  and  brutes  ;  and  these  men, 
governed  by  the  agony  of  a  wounded  mind,  were  for  trusting 
every  thing  to  hope  and  heaven,  and  bidding  defiance  at  once. 
With  others,  it  was  a  growing  conviction  that  the  scheme  of 
the  British  court  was  to  create,  ferment  and  drive  on  a 
quarrel,  for  the  sake  of  confiscated  plunder:  and  men  of  this 
class  ripened  into  independence  in  proportion  as  the  evi- 
dence increased.  While  a  third  class  conceived  it  was  the 
true  interest  of  America,  internally  and  externally,  to  be  her 
own  master,  and  gave  their  support  to  independence,  step 
by  step,  as  they  saw  her  abilities  to  maintain  it  enlarge. 
With  many,  it  was  a  compound  of  all  these  reasons  ;  while 
those  who  were  too  callous  to  be  reached  by  either,  re- 
mained, and  still  remain  tories. 

The  legal  necessity  of  being  independent,  with  several  col- 
lateral reasons,  is  pointed  out  in  an  elegant  masterly  manner, 
in  a  charge  to  the  grand  jury  for  the  district  of  Charleston, 
by  the  Hon.  William  Henry  Drayton,  chief  justice  of  South 
Carolina.'  This  performance,  and  the  address  of  the  con- 
vention of  New  York,  are  pieces,  in  my  humble  opinion,  of 
the  first  rank  in  America. 

The  principal  causes  why  independence  has  not  been  so 
universally  supported  as  it  ought,  are  fear  and  indolence,  and 
the  causes  why  it  has  been  opposed,  are,  avarice,  down-right 
villany,  and  lust  of  personal  power.  There  is  not  such  a  being 
in  America  as  a  tory  from  conscience  ;  some  secret  defect  or 
other  is  interwoven  in  the  character  of  all  those,  be  they  men 
or  women,  who  can  look  with  patience  on  the  brutality, 
luxury  and  debauchery  of  the  British  court,  and  the  viola- 
tions of  their  army  here.  A  woman's  virtue  must  sit  very 
lightly  on  her  who  can  even  hint  a  favorable  sentiment  in 
their  behalf.  It  is  remarkable  that  the  whole  race  of  prosti- 
tutes in  New  York  were  tories  ;  and  the  schemes  for  support- 

'  April  23,  1776. — Editor. 


2l6 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


ing  the  tory  cause  in  this  city,  for  which  several  are  now  in 
jail,  and  one  hanged,  were  concerted  and  carried  on  in  com- 
mon bawdy-houses,  assisted  by  those  who  kept  them.' 

The  connexion  between  vice  and  meanness  is  a  fit  subject 
for  satire,  but  when  the  satire  is  a  fact,  it  cuts  with  the  irre- 
sistible power  of  a  diamond.  If  a  Quaker,  in  defence  of  his 
just  rights,  his  property,  and  the  chastity  of  his  house,  takes 
up  a  musket,  he  is  expelled  the  meeting  ;  but  the  present 
king  of  England,  who  seduced  and  took  into  keeping  a  sister 
of  their  society,  is  reverenced  and  supported  by  repeated 
Testimonies,  while  the  friendly  noodle  from  whom  she  was 
taken  (and  who  is  now  in  this  city)  continues  a  drudge  in 
the  service  of  his  rival,  as  if  proud  of  being  cuckolded  by  a 
creature  called  a  king.  ' 

Our  support  and  success  depend  on  such  a  variety  of  men 
and  circumstances,  that  every  one  who  does  but  wish  well, 
is  of  some  use :  there  are  men  who  have  a  strange  aversion 
to  arms,  yet  have  hearts  to  risk  every  shilling  in  the  cause, 
or  in  support  of  those  who  have  better  talents  for  defending 
it.  Nature,  in  the  arrangement  of  mankind,  has  fitted  some 
for  every  service  in  life  :  were  all  soldiers,  all  would  starve 
and  go  naked,  and  were  none  soldiers,  all  would  be  slaves. 
As  disaffection  to  independence  is  the  badge  of  a  tory,  so 
affection  to  it  is  the  mark  of  a  whig  ;  and  the  different  services 
of  the  whigs,  down  from  those  who  nobly  contribute  every 
thing,  to  those  who  have  nothing  to  render  but  their  wishes, 
tend  all  to  the  same  centre,  though  with  different  degrees  of 
merit  and  ability.  The  larger  we  make  the  circle,  the  more 
we  shall  harmonize,  and  the  stronger  we  shall  be.    All  we 

'  In  Philadelphia,  the  only  American  city  with  which  Paine  was  then  familiar. 
"  Toryism  "  was  of  an  exceptionally  snobbish  and  self-interested  type.  It  is 
certain,  though  not  then  recognized,  that  some  excellent  men  made  heavy  sacri- 
fices for  their  loyalty  to  the  Crown.  Some  of  these,  while  sympathizing  with 
the  colonies,  regarded  as  sacred  official  oaths  which  they  had  taken  to  serve  the 
King. — Editor. 

'  The  Quaker  "  sister  "  was  of  course  Hannah  Lightfoot,  and  it  would  appear 
that  Axford,  to  whom  she  was  said  to  have  been  married,  was  in  Philadelphia. — 
Editor. 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


217 


want  to  shut  out  is  disaffection,  and,  that  excluded,  we  must 
accept  from  each  other  such  duties  as  we  are  best  fitted  to 
bestow.  A  narrow  system  of  politics,  like  a  narrow  system 
of  religion,  is  calculated  only  to  sour  the  temper,  and  be  at 
variance  with  mankind. 

All  we  want  to  know  in  America  is  simply  this,  who  is  for 
independence,  and  who  is  not  ?  Those  who  are  for  it,  will 
support  it,  and  the  remainder  will  undoubtedly  see  the 
reasonableness  of  paying  the  charges  ;  while  those  who 
oppose  or  seek  to  betray  it,  must  expect  the  more  rigid  fate 
of  the  jail  and  the  gibbet.  There  is  a  bastard  kind  of  generos- 
ity, which  being  extended  to  all  men,  is  as  fatal  to  society,  on 
one  hand,  as  the  want  of  true  generosity  is  on  the  other.  A 
lax  manner  of  administering  justice,  falsely  termed  modera- 
tion, has  a  tendency  both  to  dispirit  public  virtue,  and  pro- 
mote the  growth  of  public  evils.  Had  the  late  committee 
of  safety  taken  cognizance  of  the  last  Testimony  of  the 
Quakers  and  proceeded  against  such  delinquents  as  were 
concerned  therein,  they  had,  probably,  prevented  the  treason- 
able plans  which  have  been  concerted  since.  When  one 
villain  is  suffered  to  escape,  it  encourages  another  to  pro- 
ceed, either  from  a  hope  of  escaping  likewise,  or  an  appre- 
hension that  we  dare  not  punish.  It  has  been  a  matter  of 
general  surprise,  that  no  notice  was  taken  of  the  incendiary 
publication  of  the  Quakers,  of  the  20th  of  November  last :  a 
publication  evidently  intended  to  promote  sedition  and 
treason,  and  encourage  the  enemy,  who  were  then  within  a 
day's  march  of  this  city,  to  proceed  on  and  possess  it.  I 
here  present  the  reader  with  a  memorial  which  was  laid  be- 
fore the  board  of  safety  a  few  days  after  the  Testimony 
appeared.  Not  a  member  of  that  board,  that  I  conversed 
with,  but  expressed  the  highest  detestation  of  the  perverted 
principles  and  conduct  of  the  Quaker  junto,  and  a  wish  that 
the  board  would  take  the  matter  up  ;  notwithstanding  which, 
it  was  suffered  to  pass  away  unnoticed,  to  the  encourage- 
ment of  new  acts  of  treason,  the  general  danger  of  the  cause, 
and  the  disgrace  of  the  state. 


2l8  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


To  the  honorable  the  Council  of  Safety  of  the  State  of 
Pennsylvania. 

At  a  meeting  of  a  reputable  number  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  city 
of  Philadelphia,  impressed  with  a  proper  sense  of  the  justice  of 
the  cause  which  this  continent  is  engaged  in,  and  animated  with 
a  generous  fervor  for  supporting  the  same,  it  was  resolved,  that 
the  following  be  laid  before  the  board  of  safety  : 

"  We  profess  liberality  of  sentiment  to  all  men  ;  with  this  dis- 
tinction only,  that  those  who  do  not  deserve  it  would  become  wise 
and  seek  to  deserve  it.  We  hold  the  pure  doctrines  of  universal 
liberty  of  conscience,  and  conceive  it  our  duty  to  endeavor  to 
secure  that  sacred  right  to  others,  as  well  as  to  defend  it  for 
ourselves  ;  for  we  undertake  not  to  judge  of  the  religious  rectitude 
of  tenets,  but  leave  the  whole  matter  to  Him  who  made  us. 

"  We  persecute  no  man,  neither  will  we  abet  in  the  persecution 
of  any  man  for  religion's  sake  ;  our  common  relation  to  others 
being  that  of  fellow-citizens  and  fellow-subjects  of  one  single 
community  ;  and  in  this  line  of  connexion  we  hold  out  the  right 
hand  of  fellowship  to  all  men.  But  we  should  conceive  ourselves 
to  be  unworthy  members  of  the  free  and  independent  states  of 
America,  were  we  unconcernedly  to  see  or  to  suffer  any  treason- 
able wound,  public  or  private,  directly  or  indirectly,  to  be  given 
against  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  same.  We  inquire  not  into 
the  rank  of  the  offenders,  nor  into  their  religious  persuasion  ;  we 
have  no  business  with  either,  our  part  being  only  to  find  them  out 
and  exhibit  them  to  justice. 

"  A  printed  paper,  dated  the  20th  of  November,  and  signed 
'  "jFohn  Femberton,'  whom  we  suppose  to  be  an  inhabitant  of  this 
city,  has  lately  been  dispersed  abroad,  a  copy  of  which  accom- 
panies this.'  Had  the  framers  and  publishers  of  that  paper  con- 
ceived it  their  duty  to  exhort  the  youth  and  others  of  their  society, 
to  a  patient  submission  under  the  present  trying  visitations,  and 
humbly  to  wait  the  event  of  heaven  towards  them,  they  had  therein 
shown  a  Christian  temper,  and  we  had  been  silent  ;  but  the  anger 
and  political  virulence  with  which  their  instructions  are  given,  and 

'  John  Pemberton,  an  eminent  Quaker,  had  been  associated  with  the  founding 
of  the  Antislavery  Society,  April  14,  1775,  but  afterwards  led  the  Quakers  into 
their  unpatriotic  position,  and  with  more  than  twenty  others  was  sent  to  Vir- 
ginia and  confined  for  some  months,  at  a  critical  period  of  the  Revolution. — 
Editor. 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


219 


the  abuse  with  which  they  stigmatize  all  ranks  of  men  not  think- 
ing like  themselves,  leave  no  doubt  on  our  minds  from  what  spirit 
their  publication  proceeded  :  and  it  is  disgraceful  to  the  pure 
cause  of  truth,  that  men  can  dally  with  words  of  the  most  sacred 
import,  and  play  them  off  as  mechanically  as  if  religion  consisted 
only  in  contrivance.  We  know  of  no  instance  in  which  the 
Quakers  have  been  compelled  to  bear  arms,  or  to  do  any  thing 
which  might  strain  their  conscience  ;  wherefore  their  advice,  '  to 
withstand  and  refuse  to  submit  to  the  arbitrary  instructions  and 
ordinances  of  men,'  appear  to  us  a  false  alarm,  and  could  only  be 
treasonably  calculated  to  gain  favor  with  our  enemies,  when  they 
are  seemingly  on  the  brink  of  invading  this  state,  or,  what  is  still 
worse,  to  weaken  the  hands  of  our  defence,  that  their  entrance 
into  this  city  might  be  made  practicable  and  easy. 

"  We  disclaim  all  tumult  and  disorder  in  the  punishment  of 
offenders ;  and  wish  to  be  governed,  not  by  temper  but  by  reason, 
in  the  manner  of  treating  them.  We  are  sensible  that  our  cause 
has  suffered  by  the  two  following  errors  :  first,  by  ill-judged  lenity 
to  traitorous  persons  in  some  cases  ;  and,  secondly,  by  only  a 
passionate  treatment  of  them  in  others.  For  the  future  we  dis- 
own both,  and  wish  to  be  steady  in  our  proceedings,  and  serious 
in  our  punishments. 

"  Every  state  in  America  has,  by  the  repeated  voice  of  its  in- 
habitants, directed  and  authorised  the  continental  congress  to 
publish  a  formal  Declaration  of  Independence  of,  and  separation 
from,  the  oppressive  king  and  parliament  of  Great  Britain  ;  and 
we  look  on  every  man  as  an  enemy,  who  does  not  in  some  line 
or  other,  give  his  assistance  towards  supporting  the  same  ;  at  the 
same  time  we  consider  the  offence  to  be  heightened  to  a  degree 
of  unpardonable  guilt,  when  such  persons,  under  the  show  of 
religion,  endeavor,  either  by  writing,  speaking,  or  otherwise,  to 
subvert,  overturn,  or  bring  reproach  upon  the  independence  of 
this  continent  as  declared  by  congress. 

"  The  publishers  of  the  paper  signed  '  John  Pemberton,'  have 
called  in  a  loud  manner  to  their  friends  and  connexions,  '  to  with- 
stand or  refuse  '  obedience  to  whatever  '  instructions  or  ordinan- 
ces '  may  be  published,  not  warranted  by  (what  they  call)  '  that 
happy  constitution  under  which  they  and  others  long  enjoyed 
tranquillity  and  peace.'  If  this  be  not  treason,  we  know  not  what 
may  properly  be  called  by  that  name. 


220  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


"  To  US  it  is  a  matter  of  surprise  and  astonishment,  that  men 
with  the  word  '' peace,  peace,'  continually  on  their  lips,  should  be  so 
fond  of  living  under  and  supporting  a  government,  and  at  the 
same  time  calling  it  '  happy,'  which  is  never  better  pleased  than 
when  at  war — that  hath  filled  India  with  carnage  and  famine, 
Africa  with  slavery,  and  tampered  with  Indians  and  negroes  to 
cut  the  throats  of  the  freemen  of  America.  We  conceive  it  a  dis- 
grace to  this  state,  to  harbor  or  wink  at  such  palpable  hypocrisy. 
But  as  we  seek  not  to  hurt  the  hair  of  any  man's  head,  when  we 
can  make  ourselves  safe  without,  we  wish  such  persons  to  restore 
peace  to  themselves  and  us,  by  removing  themselves  to  some  part 
of  the  king  of  Great  Britain's  dominions,  as  by  that  means  they 
may  live  unmolested  by  us  and  we  by  them  ;  for  our  fixed  opinion 
is,  that  those  who  do  not  deserve  a  place  among  us,  ought  not  to 
have  one. 

"  We  conclude  with  requesting  the  Council  of  Safety  to  take 
into  consideration  the  paper  signed  '  John  Pemberton,'  and  if  it 
shall  appear  to  them  to  be  of  a  dangerous  tendency,  or  of  a  trea- 
sonable nature,  that  they  would  commit  the  signer,  together  with 
such  other  persons  as  they  can  discover  were  concerned  therein, 
into  custody,  until  such  time  as  some  mode  of  trial  shall  ascertain 
the  full  degree  of  their  guilt  and  punishment  ;  in  the  doing  of 
which,  we  wish  their  judges,  whoever  they  may  be,  to  disregard 
the  man,  his  connexions,  interest,  riches,  poverty,  or  principles 
of  religion,  and  to  attend  to  the  nature  of  his  offence  only." 

The  most  cavilling  sectarian  cannot  accuse  the  foregoing 
with  containing  the  least  ingredient  of  persecution.  The 
free  spirit  on  which  the  American  cause  is  founded,  disdains 
to  mix  with  such  an  impurity,  and  leaves  it  as  rubbish  fit 
only  for  narrow  and  suspicious  minds  to  grovel  in.  Sus- 
picion and  persecution  are  weeds  of  the  same  dunghill,  and 
flourish  together.  Had  the  Quakers  minded  their  religion 
and  their  business,  they  might  have  lived  through  this  dis- 
pute in  enviable  ease,  and  none  would  have  molested  them. 
The  common  phrase  with  these  people  is,  '  Our  principles  are 
peace.'  To  which  may  be  replied,  and  your  practices  are  the 
reverse ;  for  never  did  the  conduct  of  men  oppose  their  own 
doctrine  more  notoriously  than  the  present  race  of  the 
Quakers.    They  have  artfully  changed  themselves  into  a 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


221 


different  sort  of  people  to  what  they  used  to  be,  and  yet 
have  the  address  to  persuade  each  other  that  they  are  not 
altered  ;  like  antiquated  virgins,  they  see  not  the  havoc  de- 
formity has  made  upon  them,  but  pleasantly  mistaking 
wrinkles  for  dimples,  conceive  themselves  yet  lovely  and 
wonder  at  the  stupid  world  for  not  admiring  them. 

Did  no  injury  arise  to  the  public  by  this  apostacy  of  the 
Quakers  from  themselves,  the  public  would  have  nothing  to 
do  with  it  ;  but  as  both  the  design  and  consequences  are 
pointed  against  a  cause  in  which  the  whole  community  are 
interested,  it  is  therefore  no  longer  a  subject  confined  to  the 
cognizance  of  the  meeting  only,  but  comes,  as  a  matter  of 
criminality,  before  the  authority  either  of  the  particular  state 
in  which  it  is  acted,  or  of  the  continent  against  which  it 
operates.  Every  attempt,  now,  to  support  the  authority  of 
the  king  and  parliament  of  Great  Britain  over  America,  is 
treason  against  every  state  ;  therefore  it  is  impossible  that 
any  one  can  pardon  or  screen  from  punishment  an  offender 
against  all. 

But  to  proceed  :  while  the  infatuated  tories  of  this  and 
other  states  were  last  spring  talking  of  commissioners,  ac- 
commodation, making  the  matter  up,  and  the  Lord  knows 
what  stuff  and  nonsense,  their  good  king  and  ministry  were 
glutting  themselves  with  the  revenge  of  reducing  America 
to  unconditional  submission,  and  solacing  each  other  with  the 
certainty  of  conquering  it  in  one  campaign.  The  following 
quotations  are  from  the  parliamentary  register  of  the  debates 
of  the  house  of  lords,  March  5th,  1776: 

"The  Americans,"  says  lord  Talbot,*  "have  been  obstinate, 
undutiful,  and  ungovernable  from  the  very  beginning,  from  their 
first  early  and  infant  settlements  ;  and  I  am  every  day  more  and 
more  convinced  that  this  people  never  will  be  brought  back  to 
their  duty,  and  the  subordinate  relation  they  stand  in  to  this 
country,  till  reduced  to  mtconditional,  effectual  submission  j  no 
concession  on  our  part,  no  lenity,  no  endurance,  will  have  any  other 
effect  but  that  of  increasing  their  insolence." 


*  Steward  of  the  king's  household. — Author. 


222  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


"The  struggle,"  says  lord  Townsend,*  "  is  now  a  struggle  for 
power  ;  the  die  is  cast,  and  the  only  point  which  now  remains  to 
be  determined  is,  in  what  manner  the  war  can  be  most  effec- 
tually prosecuted  and  speedily  finished,  in  order  to  procure  that 
unconditional  subtnission,  which  has  been  so  ably  stated  by  the  noble 
earl  with  the  white  staff  "  (meaning  lord  Talbot ;)  "  and  I  have  no 
reason  to  doubt  that  the  measures  now  pursuing  will  put  an  end  to 
the  war  in  the  course  of  a  single  campaign.  Should  it  linger  longer, 
we  shall  then  have  reason  to  expect  that  some  foreign  power  will 
interfere,  and  take  advantage  of  our  domestic  troubles  and  civil 
distractions." 

Lord  Littleton.  "  My  sentiments  are  pretty  well  known.  I 
shall  only  observe  now  that  lenient  measures  have  had  no  other 
effect  than  to  produce  insult  after  insult ;  that  the  more  we  con- 
ceded, the  higher  America  rose  in  her  demands,  and  the  more 
insolent  she  has  grown.  It  is  for  this  reason  that  I  am  now  for  the 
most  effective  and  decisive  measures  ;  and  am  of  opinion  that  no 
alternative  is  left  us,  but  to  relinquish  America  for  ever,  or  finally 
determine  to  compel  her  to  acknowledge  the  legislative  authority 
of  this  country  ;  and  it  is  the  principle  of  an  unconditional  submis- 
sion I  would  be  for  maintaining." 

Can  w^ords  be  more  expressive  than  these?  Surely  the 
tories  will  believe  the  tory  lords !  The  truth  is,  they  do 
believe  them  and  know  as  fully  as  any  whig  on  the  continent 
knows,  that  the  king  and  ministry  never  had  the  least  design 
of  an  accommodation  with  America,  but  an  absolute,  uncon- 
ditional conquest.  And  the  part  which  the  tories  were  to 
act,  was,  by  downright  lying,  to  endeavor  to  put  the  continent 
off  its  guard,  and  to  divide  and  sow  discontent  in  the  minds 
of  such  whigs  as  they  might  gain  an  influence  over.  In  short, 
to  keep  up  a  distraction  here,  that  the  force  sent  from  Eng- 
land might  be  able  to  conquer  in  "  one  campaign.''  They  and 
the  ministry  were,  by  a  different  game,  playing  into  each 
other's  hands.  The  cry  of  the  tories  in  England  was,  "  No 
reconciliation,  no  accommodation"  in  order  to  obtain  the 
greater  military  force ;  while  those  in  America  were  crying 

*  Formerly,  general  Townsend,  at  Quebec,  and  late  lord-lieutenant  of  Ireland. 
— A  uthor. 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


223 


nothing  but  "  reconciliation  and  accommodation"  that  the  force 
sent  might  conquer  with  the  less  resistance. 

But  this  "  single  campaign  "  is  over,  and  America  not  con- 
quered. The  whole  work  is  yet  to  do,  and  the  force  much 
less  to  do  it  with.  Their  condition  is  both  despicable  and 
deplorable :  out  of  cash — out  of  heart,  and  out  of  hope.  A 
country  furnished  with  arms  and  ammunition  as  America 
now  is,  with  three  millions  of  inhabitants,  and  three  thou- 
sand miles  distant  from  the  nearest  enemy  that  can  approach 
her,  is  able  to  look  and  laugh  them  in  the  face. 

Howe  appears  to  have  two  objects  in  view,  either  to  go  up 
the  North  river,  or  come  to  Philadelphia. 

By  going  up  the  North  river,  he  secures  a  retreat  for  his 
army  through  Canada,  but  the  ships  must  return  if  they  re- 
turn at  all,  the  same  way  they  went ;  as  our  army  would  be 
in  the  rear,  the  safety  of  their  passage  down  is  a  doubtful 
matter.  By  such  a  motion  he  shuts  himself  from  all  supplies 
from  Europe,  but  through  Canada,  and  exposes  his  army  and 
navy  to  the  danger  of  perishing.  The  idea  of  his  cutting  off 
the  communication  between  the  eastern  and  southern  states, 
by  means  of  the  North  river,  is  merely  visionary.  He  can- 
not do  it  by  his  shipping ;  because  no  ship  can  lay  long  at 
anchor  in  any  river  within  reach  of  the  shore  ;  a  single  gun 
would  drive  a  first  rate  from  such  a  station.  This  was  fully 
proved  last  October  at  forts  Washington  and  Lee,  where  one 
gun  only,  on  each  side  of  the  river,  obliged  two  frigates  to 
cut  and  be  towed  off  in  an  hour's  time.  Neither  can  he  cut 
it  off  by  his  army ;  because  the  several  posts  they  must 
occupy  would  divide  them  almost  to  nothing,  and  expose 
them  to  be  picked  up  by  ours  like  pebbles  on  a  river's  bank; 
but  admitting  that  he  could,  where  is  the  injury?  Because, 
while  his  whole  force  is  cantoned  out,  as  sentries  over  the 
water,  they  will  be  very  innocently  employed,  and  the 
moment  they  march  into  the  country  the  communication 
opens. 

The  most  probable  object  is  Philadelphia,  and  the  reasons 
are  many.  Howe's  business  is  to  conquer  it,  and  in  propor- 
tion as  he  finds  himself  unable  to  the  task,  he  will  employ  his 


224  ^^^^   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


Strength  to  distress  women  and  weak  minds,  in  order  to  ac- 
complish through  their  fears  what  he  cannot  accompHsh  by 
his  otmi  force.  His  coming  or  attempting  to  come  to  Phila- 
delphia is  a  circumstance  that  proves  his  weakness :  for  no 
general  that  felt  himself  able  to  take  the  field  and  attack  his 
antagonist  would  think  of  bringing  his  army  into  a  city  in  the 
summer  time  ;  and  this  mere  shifting  the  scene  from  place  to 
place,  without  effecting  any  thing,  has  feebleness  and  cowar- 
dice on  the  face  of  it,  and  holds  him  up  in  a  contemptible 
light  to  all  who  can  reason  justly  and  firmly.  By  several  in- 
formations from  New  York,  it  appears  that  their  army  in 
general,  both  officers  and  men,  have  given  up  the  expecta- 
tion of  conquering  America  ;  their  eye  now  is  fixed  upon  the 
spoil.  They  suppose  Philadelphia  to  be  rich  with  stores,  and 
as  they  think  to  get  more  by  robbing  a  town  than  by  attack- 
ing an  army,  their  movement  towards  this  city  is  probable. 
We  are  not  now  contending  against  an  army  of  soldiers,  but 
against  a  band  of  thieves,  who  had  rather  plunder  than  fight, 
and  have  no  other  hope  of  conquest  than  by  cruelty. 

They  expect  to  get  a  mighty  booty,  and  strike  another 
general  panic,  by  making  a  sudden  movement  and  getting 
possession  of  this  city  ;  but  unless  they  can  march  i??^/  as  well 
as  in,  or  get  the  entire  command  of  the  river,  to  remove  off 
their  plunder,  they  may  probably  be  stopped  with  the  stolen 
goods  upon  them.  They  have  never  yet  succeeded  where- 
ever  they  have  been  opposed,  but  at  fort  Washington.  At 
Charleston  their  defeat  was  effectual.  At  Ticonderoga  they 
ran  away.  In  every  skirmish  at  Kingsbridge  and  the  White 
Plains  they  were  obliged  to  retreat,  and  the  instant  that  our 
arms  were  turned  upon  them  in  the  Jerseys,  they  turned  like- 
wise, and  those  that  turned  not  were  taken. 

The  necessity  of  always  fitting  our  internal  police  to  the 
circumstances  of  the  times  we  live  in,  is  something  so  strik- 
ingly obvious,  that  no  sufficient  objection  can  be  made  against 
it.  The  safety  of  all  societies  depends  upon  it ;  and  where 
this  point  is  not  attended  to,  the  consequences  will  either  be 
a  general  languor  or  a  tumult.  The  encouragement  and  pro- 
tection of  the  good  subjects  of  any  state,  and  the  suppression 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


225 


and  punishment  of  bad  ones,  are  the  principal  objects  for 
which  all  authority  is  instituted,  and  the  line  in  which  it 
ought  to  operate.  We  have  in  this  city  a  strange  variety  of 
men  and  characters,  and  the  circumstances  of  the  times 
require  that  they  should  be  publicly  known  ;  it  is  not  the 
number  of  tories  that  hurt  us,  so  much  as  the  not  finding  out 
who  they  are  ;  men  must  now  take  one  side  or  the  other,  and 
abide  by  the  consequences  :  the  Quakers,  trusting  to  their 
short-sighted  sagacity,  have,  most  unluckily  for  them,  made 
their  declaration  in  their  last  Testimony,  and  we  ought  now 
to  take  them  at  their  word.  They  have  involuntarily  read 
themselves  out  of  the  continental  meeting,  and  cannot  hope 
to  be  restored  to  it  again  but  by  payment  and  penitence. 
Men  whose  political  principles  are  founded  on  avarice,  are 
beyond  the  reach  of  reason,  and  the  only  cure  of  toryism  of 
this  cast  is  to  tax  it.  A  substantial  good  drawn  from  a  real 
evil,  is  of  the  same  benefit  to  society,  as  if  drawn  from  a  vir- 
tue ;  and  where  men  have  not  public  spirit  to  render  them- 
selves serviceable,  it  ought  to  be  the  study  of  government  to 
draw  the  best  use  possible  from  their  vices.  When  the  gov- 
erning passion  of  any  man,  or  set  of  men,  is  once  known,  the 
method  of  managing  them  is  easy  ;  for  even  misers,  whom  no 
public  virtue  can  impress,  would  become  generous,  could  a 
heavy  tax  be  laid  upon  covetousness. 

The  tories  have  endeavored  to  insure  their  property  with 
the  enemy,  by  forfeiting  their  reputation  with  us ;  from 
which  may  be  justly  inferred,  that  their  governing  passion  is 
avarice.  Make  them  as  much  afraid  of  losing  on  one  side  as 
on  the  other,  and  you  stagger  their  toryism  ;  make  them 
more  so,  and  you  reclaim  them  ;  for  their  principle  is  to 
worship  the  power  which  they  are  most  afraid  of. 

This  method  of  considering  men  and  things  together, 
opens  into  a  large  field  for  speculation,  and  affords  me  an 
opportunity  of  offering  some  observations  on  the  state  of 
our  currency,  so  as  to  make  the  support  of  it  go  hand  in 
hand  with  the  suppression  of  disaffection  and  the  encourage- 
ment of  public  spirit. 

The  thing  which  first  presents  itself  in  inspecting  the  state 

VOL.  I. — 15 


226  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


of  the  currency,  is,  that  we  have  too  much  of  it,  and  that 
there  is  a  necessity  of  reducing  the  quantity,  in  order  to  in- 
crease the  value.  Men  are  daily  growing  poor  by  the  very 
means  that  they  take  to  get  rich  ;  for  in  the  same  proportion 
that  the  prices  of  all  goods  on  hand  are  raised,  the  value  of 
all  money  laid  by  is  reduced.  A  simple  case  will  make  this 
clear ;  let  a  man  have  100/.  in  cash,  and  as  many  goods  on 
hand  as  will  to-day  sell  for  20/. ;  but  not  content  with  the 
present  market  price,  he  raises  them  to  40/.  and  by  so  doing 
obliges  others,  in  their  own  defence,  to  raise  cent,  per  cent, 
likewise ;  in  this  case  it  is  evident  that  his  hundred  pounds 
laid  by,  is  reduced  fifty  pounds  in  value ;  whereas,  had  the 
market  lowered  cent,  per  cent.,  his  goods  would  have  sold 
but  for  ten,  but  his  hundred  pounds  would  have  risen  in 
value  to  two  hundred  ;  because  it  would  then  purchase  as 
many  goods  again,  or  support  his  family  as  long  again  as  be- 
fore. And,  strange  as  it  may  seem,  he  is  one  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  the  poorer  for  raising  his  goods,  to  what  he 
would  have  been  had  he  lowered  them ;  because  the  forty 
pounds  which  his  goods  sold  for,  is,  by  the  general  raise  of 
the  market  cent,  per  cent.,  rendered  of  no  more  value  than 
the  ten  pounds  would  be  had  the  market  fallen  in  the  same 
proportion  ;  and,  consequently,  the  whole  difference  of  gain 
or  loss  is  on  the  difference  in  value  of  the  hundred  pounds 
laid  by,  viz.  from  fifty  to  two  hundred.  This  rage  for  raising 
goods  is  for  several  reasons  much  more  the  fault  of  the  tories 
than  the  whigs ;  and  yet  the  tories  (to  their  shame  and  con- 
fusion ought  they  to  be  told  of  it)  are  by  far  the  most  noisy 
and  discontented.  The  greatest  part  of  the  whigs,  by  being 
now  either  in  the  army  or  employed  in  some  public  service, 
ai'c  buyers  only  and  not  sellers,  and  as  this  evil  has  its  origin 
in  trade,  it  cannot  be  charged  on  those  who  are  out  of  it. 

But  the  grievance  has  now  become  too  general  to  be 
remedied  by  partial  methods,  and  the  only  effectual  cure  is 
to  reduce  the  quantity  of  money :  with  half  the  quantity  we 
should  be  richer  than  we  are  now,  because  the  value  of  it 
would  be  doubled,  and  consequently  our  attachment  to  it 
increased  ;  for  it  is  not  the  number  of  dollars  that  a  man 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


227 


has,  but  how  far  they  will  go,  that  makes  him  either  rich  or 
poor. 

These  two  points  being  admitted,  viz.  that  the  quantity 
of  money  is  too  great,  and  that  the  prices  of  goods  can 
only  be  effectually  reduced  by  reducing  the  quantity  of 
the  money,  the  next  point  to  be  considered  is,  the  method 
how  to  reduce  it. 

The  circumstances  of  the  times,  as  before  observed,  re- 
quire that  the  public  characters  of  all  men  should  now  be 
fully  understood,  and  the  only  general  method  of  ascertain- 
ing it  is  by  an  oath  or  afifirmation,  renouncing  all  allegiance 
to  the  king  of  Great  Britain,  and  to  support  the  independ- 
ence of  the  United  States,  as  declared  by  congress.  Let,  at 
the  same  time,  a  tax  of  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty  per  cent,  per 
annum,  to  be  collected  quarterly,  be  levied  on  all  property. 
These  alternatives,  by  being  perfectly  voluntary,  will  take  in 
all  sorts  of  people.  Here  is  the  test ;  here  is  the  tax.  He 
who  takes  the  former,  conscientiously  proves  his  affection  to 
the  cause,  and  binds  himself  to  pay  his  quota  by  the  best 
services  in  his  power,  and  is  thereby  justly  exempt  from  the 
latter ;  and  those  who  choose  the  latter,  pay  their  quota  in 
money,  to  be  excused  from  the  former,  or  rather,  it  is  the 
price  paid  to  us  for  their  supposed,  though  mistaken, 
insurance  with  the  enemy. 

But  this  is  only  a  part  of  the  advantage  which  would  arise 
by  knowing  the  different  characters  of  men.  The  whigs 
stake  every  thing  on  the  issue  of  their  arms,  while  the 
tories,  by  their  disaffection,  are  sapping  and  undermining 
their  strength  ;  and,  of  consequence,  the  property  of  the 
whigs  is  the  more  exposed  thereby;  and  whatever  injury 
their  estates  may  sustain  by  the  movements  of  the  enemy, 
must  either  be  borne  by  themselves,  who  have  done  every 
thing  which  has  yet  been  done,  or  by  the  tories,  who  have 
not  only  done  nothing,  but  have,  by  their  disaffection, 
invited  the  enemy  on. 

In  the  present  crisis  we  ought  to  know,  square  by  square 
and  house  by  house,  who  are  in  real  allegiance  with  the 
United  Independent  States,  and  who  are  not.    Let  but  the 


228  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i777 


line  be  made  clear  and  distinct,  and  all  men  will  then  know 
what  they  are  to  trust  to.  It  would  not  only  be  good 
policy  but  strict  justice,  to  raise  fifty  or  one  hundred 
thousand  pounds,  or  more,  if  it  is  necessary,  out  of  the 
estates  and  property  of  the  king  of  England's  votaries, 
resident  in  Philadelphia,  to  be  distributed,  as  a  reward  to 
those  inhabitants  of  the  city  and  state,  who  should  turn  out 
and  repulse  the  enemy,  should  they  attempt  to  march  this 
way  ;  and  likewise,  to  bind  the  property  of  all  such  persons 
to  make  good  the  damages  which  that  of  the  whigs  might 
sustain.  In  the  undistinguishable  mode  of  conducting  a 
war,  we  frequently  make  reprisals  at  sea,  on  the  vessels  of 
persons  in  England,  who  are  friends  to  our  cause  compared 
with  the  resident  tories  among  us. 

In  every  former  publication  of  mine,  from  Common  Sense 
down  to  the  last  Crisis,  I  have  generally  gone  on  the  chari- 
table supposition,  that  the  tories  were  rather  a  mistaken  than 
a  criminal  people,  and  have  applied  argument  after  argu- 
ment, with  all  the  candor  and  temper  which  I  was  capable 
of,  in  order  to  set  every  part  of  the  case  clearly  and  fairly 
before  them,  and  if  possible  to  reclaim  them  from  ruin  to 
reason.  I  have  done  my  duty  by  them  and  have  now  done 
with  that  doctrine,  taking  it  for  granted,  that  those  who  yet 
hold  their  disaffection  are  either  a  set  of  avaricious  mis- 
creants, who  would  sacrifice  the  continent  to  save  themselves, 
or  a  banditti  of  hungry  traitors,  who  are  hoping  for  a  division 
of  the  spoil.  To  which  may  be  added,  a  list  of  crown  or 
proprietary  dependants,  who,  rather  than  go  without  a  por- 
tion of  power,  would  be  content  to  share  it  with  the  devil. 
Of  such  men  there  is  no  hope ;  and  their  obedience  will 
only  be  according  to  the  danger  set  before  them,  and  the 
power  that  is  exercised  over  them. 

A  time  will  shortly  arrive,  in  which,  by  ascertaining  the 
characters  of  persons  now,  we  shall  be  guarded  against  their 
mischiefs  then  ;  for  in  proportion  as  the  enemy  despair  of 
conquest,  they  will  be  trying  the  arts  of  seduction  and  the 
force  of  fear  by  all  the  mischiefs  which  they  can  inflict.  But 
in  war  we  may  be  certain  of  these  two  things,  viz.  that  cruelty 
in  an  enemy,  and  motions  made  with  more  than  usual  parade. 


17771 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


229 


are  always  signs  of  weakness.  He  that  can  conquer,  finds  his 
mind  too  free  and  pleasant  to  be  brutish  ;  and  he  that  intends 
to  conquer,  never  makes  too  much  show  of  his  strength. 

We  now  know  the  enemy  we  have  to  do  with.  While 
drunk  with  the  certainty  of  victory,  they  disdained  to  be 
civil ;  and  in  proportion  as  disappointment  makes  them 
sober,  and  their  apprehensions  of  an  European  war  alarm 
them,  they  will  become  cringing  and  artful ;  honest  they 
cannot  be.  But  our  answer  to  them,  in  either  condition  they 
may  be  in,  is  short  and  full — "As  free  and  independent 
states  we  are  willing  to  make  peace  with  you  to-morrow,  but 
we  neither  can  hear  nor  reply  in  any  other  character." 

If  Britain  cannot  conquer  us,  it  proves  that  she  is  neither 
able  to  govern  nor  protect  us,  and  our  particular  situation 
now  is  such,  that  any  connexion  with  her  would  be  unwisely 
exchanging  a  half-defeated  enemy  for  two  powerful  ones. 
Europe,  by  every  appearance,  is  now  on  the  eve,  nay,  on  the 
morning  twilight  of  a  war,  and  any  alliance  with  George  the 
third,  brings  France  and  Spain  upon  our  backs;  a  separation 
from  him  attaches  them  to  our  side ;  therefore,  the  only  road 
to  peace,  honour,  and  commerce,  in  Independence. 

Written  this  fourth  year  of  the  UNION,'  which  God  preserve. 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  April  19,  1777. 


THE  CRISIS. 

IV. 

Those  who  expect  to  reap  the  blessings  of  freedom, 
must,  like  men,  undergo  the  fatigues  of  supporting  it.  The 
event  of  yesterday "  was  one  of  those  kind  of  alarms  which  is 
just  sufficient  to  rouse  us  to  duty,  without  being  of  conse- 
quence enough  to  depress  our  fortitude.    It  is  not  a  field  of 

'  Paine  would  seem  to  date  from  the  formation  of  the  intercolonial  commit- 
tee, in  1773. — Edilor. 

'  Battle  of  Brandywine,  September  11,  1777.  For  the  circumstances  under 
which  this  brief  "  Crisis  "  was  written,  see  Paine's  letter  to  Franklin  (XXI.  of 
this  volume). — Editor. 


230  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1777 


a  few  acres  of  ground,  but  a  cause,  that  we  are  defending, 
and  whether  we  defeat  the  enemy  in  one  battle,  or  by  de- 
grees, the  consequences  will  be  the  same. 

Look  back  at  the  events  of  last  winter  and  the  present 
year,  there  you  will  find  that  the  enemy's  successes  always 
contributed  to  reduce  them.  What  they  have  gained  in 
ground,  they  paid  so  dearly  for  in  numbers,  that  their  vic- 
tories have  in  the  end  amounted  to  defeats.  We  have  al- 
ways been  masters  at  the  last  push,  and  always  shall  be 
while  we  do  our  duty.  Howe  has  been  once  on  the  banks 
of  the  Delaware,  and  from  thence  driven  back  with  loss  and 
disgrace :  and  why  not  be  again  driven  from  the  Schuylkill  ? 
His  condition  and  ours  are  very  different.  He  has  everybody 
to  fight,  we  have  only  his  one  army  to  cope  with,  and  which 
wastes  away  at  every  engagement :  we  can  not  only  reinforce, 
but  can  redouble  our  numbers  ;  he  is  cut  off  from  all  supplies, 
and  must  sooner  or  later  inevitably  fall  into  our  hands. 

Shall  a  band  of  ten  or  twelve  thousand  robbers,  who  are 
this  day  fifteen  hundred  or  two  thousand  men  less  in 
strength  than  they  were  yesterday,  conquer  America,  or 
subdue  even  a  single  state?  The  thing  cannot  be,  unless 
we  sit  down  and  suffer  them  to  do  it.  Another  such  a 
brush,  notwithstanding  we  lost  the  ground,  would,  by  still 
reducing  the  enemy,  put  them  in  a  condition  to  be  after- 
wards totally  defeated. 

Could  our  whole  army  have  come  up  to  the  attack  at  one 
time,  the  consequences  had  probably  been  otherwise ;  but 
our  having  different  parts  of  the  Brandywine  creek  to  guard, 
and  the  uncertainty  which  road  to  Philadelphia  the  enemy 
would  attempt  to  take,  naturally  afforded  them  an  opportu- 
nity of  passing  with  their  main  body  at  a  place  where  only  a 
part  of  ours  could  be  posted  ;  for  it  must  strike  every  think- 
ing man  with  conviction,  that  it  requires  a  much  greater 
force  to  oppose  an  enemy  in.several  places,  than  is  sufficient 
to  defeat  him  in  any  one  place. 

Men  who  are  sincere  in  defending  their  freedom,  will  al- 
ways feel  concern  at  every  circumstance  which  seems  to  make 
against  them  ;  it  is  the  natural  and  honest  consequence  of 


1777] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


231 


all  affectionate  attachments,  and  the  want  of  it  is  a  vice. 
But  the  dejection  lasts  only  for  a  moment ;  they  soon  rise 
out  of  it  with  additional  vigor;  the  glow  of  hope,  courage 
and  fortitude,  will,  in  a  little  time,  supply  the  place  of  every 
inferior  passion,  and  kindle  the  whole  heart  into  heroism. 

There  is  a  mystery  in  the  countenance  of  some  causes, 
which  we  have  not  always  present  judgment  enough  to  ex- 
plain. It  is  distressing  to  see  an  enemy  advancing  into  a 
country,  but  it  is  the  only  place  in  which  we  can  beat  them, 
and  in  which  we  have  always  beaten  them,  whenever  they 
made  the  attempt.  The  nearer  any  disease  approaches  to  a 
crisis,  the  nearer  it  is  to  a  cure.  Danger  and  deliverance 
make  their  advances  together,  and  it  is  only  the  last  push,  in 
which  one  or  the  other  takes  the  lead. 

There  are  many  men  who  will  do  their  duty  when  it  is 
not  wanted ;  but  a  genuine  public  spirit  always  appears 
most  when  there  is  most  occasion  for  it.  Thank  God  !  our 
army,  though  fatigued,  is  yet  entire.  The  attack  made  by 
us  yesterday,  was  under  many  disadvantages,  naturally 
arising  from  the  uncertainty  of  knowing  which  route  the 
enemy  would  take ;  and,  from  that  circumstance,  the  whole 
of  our  force  could  not  be  brought  up  together  time  enough 
to  engage  all  at  once.  Our  strength  is  yet  reserved  ;  and  it 
is  evident  that  Howe  does  not  think  himself  a  gainer  by  the 
affair,  otherwise  he  would  this  morning  have  moved  down 
and  attacked  General  Washington. 

Gentlemen  of  the  city  and  country,  it  is  in  your  power, 
by  a  spirited  improvement  of  the  present  circumstance,  to 
turn  it  to  a  real  advantage.  Howe  is  now  weaker  than 
before,  and  every  shot  will  contribute  to  reduce  him.  You 
are  more  immediately  interested  than  any  other  part  of  the 
continent :  your  all  is  at  stake  ;  it  is  not  so  with  the  general 
cause ;  you  are  devoted  by  the  enemy  to  plunder  and  de- 
struction :  it  is  the  encouragement  which  Howe,  the  chief  of 
plunderers,  has  promised  his  army.  Thus  circumstanced, 
you  may  save  yourselves  by  a  manly  resistance,  but  you  can 
have  no  hope  in  any  other  conduct.  I  never  yet  knew  our 
brave  general,  or  any  part  of  the  army,  officers  or  men,  out 


232  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i777 


of  heart,  and  I  have  seen  them  in  circumstances  a  thousand 
times  more  trying  than  the  present.  It  is  only  those  that  are 
not  in  action,  that  feel  languor  and  heaviness,  and  the  best 
way  to  rub  it  off  is  to  turn  out,  and  make  sure  work  of  it. 

Our  army  must  undoubtedly  feel  fatigue,  and  want  a  rein- 
forcement of  rest  though  not  of  valour.  Our  own  interest 
and  happiness  call  upon  us  to  give  them  every  support  in 
our  power,  and  make  the  burden  of  the  day,  on  which  the 
safety  of  this  city  depends,  as  light  as  possible.  Remember, 
gentlemen,  that  we  have  forces  both  to  the  northward  and 
southward  of  Philadelphia,  and  if  the  enemy  be  but  stopped 
till  those  can  arrive,  this  city  will  be  saved,  and  the  enemy 
finally  routed.  You  have  too  much  at  stake  to  hesitate.  You 
ought  not  to  think  an  hour  upon  the  matter,  but  to  spring 
to  action  at  once.  Other  states  have  been  invaded,  have 
likewise  driven  off  the  invaders.  Now  our  time  and  turn  is 
come,  and  perhaps  the  finishing  stroke  is  reserved  for  us. 
When  we  look  back  on  the  dangers  we  have  been  saved  from, 
and  reflect  on  the  success  we  have  been  blessed  with,  it  would 
be  sinful  either  to  be  idle  or  to  despair. 

I  close  this  paper  with  a  short  address  to  general  Howe. 
You,  sir,  are  only  lingering  out  the  period  that  shall  bring 
with  it  your  defeat.  You  have  yet  scarce  began  upon  the 
war,  and  the  further  you  enter,  the  faster  will  your  troubles 
thicken.  What  you  now  enjoy  is  only  a  respite  from  ruin; 
an  invitation  to  destruction ;  something  that  will  lead  on  to 
our  deliverance  at  your  expense.  We  know  the  cause  which 
we  are  engaged  in,  and  though  a  passionate  fondness  for  it 
may  make  us  grieve  at  every  injury  which  threatens  it,  yet, 
when  the  moment  of  concern  is  over,  the  determination  to 
duty  returns.  We  are  not  moved  by  the  gloomy  smile  of  a 
worthless  king,  but  by  the  ardent  glow  of  generous  patriotism. 
We  fight  not  to  enslave,  but  to  set  a  country  free,  and  to  make 
room  upon  the  earth  for  honest  men  to  live  in.  In  such  a 
case  we  are  sure  that  we  are  right ;  and  we  leave  to  you  the 
despairing  reflection  of  being  the  tool  of  a  miserable  tyrant. 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  Sept.  12,  1777. 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


233 


THE  CRISIS. 

V. 

TO  GEN.  SIR  WILLIAM  HOWE.' 

To  argue  with  a  man  who  has  renounced  the  use  and 
authority  of  reason,  and  whose  philosophy  consists  in  hold- 
ing humanity  in  contempt,  is  like  administering  medicine  to 
the  dead,  or  endeavoring  to  convert  an  atheist  by  scripture. 
Enjoy,  sir,  your  insensibility  of  feeling  and  reflecting.  It  is 
the  prerogative  of  animals.  And  no  man  will  envy  you  these 
honors,  in  which  a  savage  only  can  be  your  rival  and  a  bear 
your  master. 

As  the  generosity  of  this  country  rewarded  your  brother's 
services  last  war,  with  an  elegant  monument  in  Westminster 
Abbey,  it  is  consistent  that  she  should  bestow  some  mark 
of  distinction  upon  you.'  You  certainly  deserve  her  notice, 
and  a  conspicuous  place  in  the  catalogue  of  extraordinary 
persons.  Yet  it  would  be  a  pity  to  pass  you  from  the  world 
in  state,  and  consign  you  to  magnificent  oblivion  among  the 
tombs,  without  telling  the  future  beholder  why.  Judas  is  as 
much  known  as  John,  yet  history  ascribes  their  fame  to  very 
different  actions. 

Sir  William  hath  undoubtedly  merited  a  monument ;  but 
of  what  kind,  or  with  what  inscription,  where  placed  or  how 
embellished,  is  a  question  that  would  puzzle  all  the  heralds 
of  St  James's  in  the  profoundest  mood  of  historical  delibera- 
tion.   We  are  at  no  loss,  sir,  to  ascertain  your  real  character, 

'  In  October,  1777,  Howe  being,  since  September  26,  in  possession  of  Phila- 
delphia, Paine  was  employed  by  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly  and  Council  to 
obtain  for  it  constant  intelligence  of  the  movements  of  Washington's  army. 
("  Life  of  Paine,"  i.,  p.  94.)  While  writing  this,  No.  V.,  he  saw  much  of  Wash- 
ington, and  the  pamphlet  was  probably  to  some  extent  "inspired."  It  was 
put  into  shape  at  the  house  of  William  Henry,  Jr. ,  Lancaster,  Pa. ,  whose  son 
remembered  that  he  was  very  long  at  the  work.  It  was  printed  at  York, 
Pa.,  where  Congress  was  in  session. — Editor. 

George  Augustus  Howe,  born  1724,  fell  at  Ticonderoga,  July  8,  1758.  The 
General  Court  of  Massachusetts  appropriated  £,2,^0  for  the  monument  in  West- 
minster Abbey. — Editor. 


234  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


but  somewhat  perplexed  how  to  perpetuate  its  identity,  and 
preserve  it  uninjured  from  the  transformations  of  time  or 
mistake.  A  statuary  may  give  a  false  expression  to  your 
bust,  or  decorate  it  with  some  equivocal  emblems,  by  which 
you  may  happen  to  steal  into  reputation  and  impose  upon 
the  hereafter  traditionary  world.  Ill  nature  or  ridicule  may 
conspire,  or  a  variety  of  accidents  combine  to  lessen,  enlarge, 
or  change  Sir  William's  fame ;  and  no  doubt  but  he  who 
has  taken  so  much  pains  to  be  singular  in  his  conduct,  would 
choose  to  be  just  as  singular  in  his  exit,  his  monument  and 
his  epitaph. 

The  usual  honours  of  the  dead,  to  be  sure,  are  not  sufifi- 
ciently  sublime  to  escort  a  character  like  you  to  the  republic 
of  dust  and  ashes;  for  however  men  may  differ  in  their  ideas 
of  grandeur  or  of  government  here,  the  grave  is  nevertheless 
a  perfect  republic.  Death  is  not  the  monarch  of  the  dead, 
but  of  the  dying.  The  moment  he  obtains  a  conquest  he 
loses  a  subject,  and,  like  the  foolish  king  you  serve,  will,  in 
the  end,  war  himself  out  of  all  his  dominions. 

As  a  proper  preliminary  towards  the  arrangement  of  your 
funeral  honours,  we  readily  admit  of  your  new  rank  of 
knigJithood.  The  title  is  perfectly  in  character,  and  is  your 
own,  more  by  merit  than  creation.  There  are  knights  of 
various  orders,  from  the  knight  of  the  windmill  to  the  knight 
of  the  post.  The  former  is  your  patron  for  exploits,  and  the 
latter  will  assist  you  in  settling  your  accounts.  No  honorary 
title  could  be  more  happily  applied  !  The  ingenuity  is  sub- 
lime !  And  your  royal  master  hath  discovered  more  genius 
in  fitting  you  therewith,  than  in  generating  the  most  finished 
figure  for  a  button,  or  descanting  on  the  properties  of  a 
button  mould. 

But  how,  sir,  shall  we  dispose  of  you  ?  The  invention  of 
a  statuary  is  exhausted,  and  Sir  William  is  yet  unprovided 
with  a  monument.  America  is  anxious  to  bestow  her  funeral 
favours  upon  you,  and  wishes  to  do  it  in  a  manner  that  shall 
distinguish  you  from  all  the  deceased  heroes  of  the  last  war. 
The  Egyptian  method  of  embalming  is  not  known  to  the 
present  age,  and  hieroglyphical  pageantry  hath  outlived  the 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


science  of  decyphering  it.  Some  other  method,  therefore, 
must  be  thought  of  to  immortalise  the  new  knight  of  the 
windmill  and  post.  Sir  William,  thanks  to  his  stars,  is  not 
oppressed  with  very  delicate  ideas.  He  has  no  ambition  of 
being  wrapped  up  and  handed  about  in  myrrh,  aloes  and 
cassia.  Less  expensive  odours  will  suffice ;  and  it  fortunately 
happens  that  the  simple  genius  of  America  hath  discovered 
the  art  of  preserving  bodies,  and  embellishing  them  too,  with 
much  greater  frugality  than  the  ancients.  In  balmage,  sir, 
of  humble  tar,  you  will  be  as  secure  as  Pharaoh,  and  in  a 
hieroglyphic  of  feathers,  rival  in  finery  all  the  mummies  of 
Egypt. 

As  you  have  already  made  your  exit  from  the  moral 
world,  and  by  numberless  acts  both  of  passionate  and  delib- 
erate injustice  engraved  an  "  here  lyeth  "  on  your  deceased 
honour,  it  must  be  mere  affectation  in  you  to  pretend  con- 
cern at  the  humours  or  opinions  of  mankind  respecting  you. 
What  remains  of  you  may  expire  at  any  time.  The  sooner 
the  better.  For  he  who  survives  his  reputation,  lives  out  of 
despite  of  himself,  like  a  man  listening  to  his  own  reproach. 

Thus  entombed  and  ornamented,  I  leave  you  to  the  in- 
spection of  the  curious,  and  return  to  the  history  of  your 
yet  surviving  actions.  The  character  of  Sir  William  hath 
undergone  some  extraordinary  revolutions  since  his  arrival 
in  America.  It  is  now  fixed  and  known  ;  and  we  have 
nothing  to  hope  from  your  candour  or  to  fear  from  your 
capacity.  Indolence  and  inability  have  too  large  a  share  in 
your  composition,  ever  to  suffer  you  to  be  anything  more 
than  the  hero  of  little  villainies  and  unfinished  adventures. 
That,  which  to  some  persons  appeared  moderation  in  you  at 
first,  was  not  produced  by  any  real  virtue  of  your  own,  but 
by  a  contrast  of  passions,  dividing  and  holding  you  in  per- 
petual irresolution.  One  vice  will  frequently  expel  another, 
without  the  least  merit  in  the  man ;  as  powers  in  contrary 
directions  reduce  each  other  to  rest. 

It  became  you  to  have  supported  a  dignified  solemnity  of 
character ;  to  have  shown  a  superior  liberality  of  soul ;  to 
have  won  respect  by  an  obstinate  perseverance  in  maintain- 


236  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


ing  order,  and  to  have  exhibited  on  all  occasions  such  an 
unchangeable  graciousness  of  conduct,  that  while  we  beheld 
in  you  the  resolution  of  an  enemy,  we  might  admire  in  you 
the  sincerity  of  a  man.  You  came  to  America  under  the 
high  sounding  titles  of  commander  and  commissioner ;  not 
only  to  suppress  what  you  call  rebellion,  by  arms,  but  to 
shame  it  out  of  countenance  by  the  excellence  of  your  ex- 
ample. Instead  of  which,  you  have  been  the  patron  of  low 
and  vulgar  frauds,  the  encourager  of  Indian  cruelties;  and 
have  imported  a  cargo  of  vices  blacker  than  those  which  you 
pretend  to  suppress. 

Mankind  are  not  universally  agreed  in  their  determination 
of  right  and  wrong  ;  but  there  are  certain  actions  which  the 
consent  of  all  nations  and  individuals  hath  branded  with  the 
unchangeable  name  of  meanness.  In  the  list  of  human  vices  we 
find  some  of  such  a  refined  constitution,  they  cannot  be  carried 
into  practice  without  seducing  some  virtue  to  their  assist- 
ance ;  but  meanness  hath  neither  alliance  nor  apology.  It 
is  generated  in  the  dust  and  sweepings  of  other  vices,  and  is 
of  such  a  hateful  figure  that  all  the  rest  conspire  to  disown 
it.  Sir  William,  the  commissioner  of  George  the  third,  hath 
at  last  vouchsafed  to  give  it  rank  and  pedigree.  He  has 
placed  the  fugitive  at  the  council  board,  and  dubbed  it  com- 
panion of  the  order  of  knighthood. 

The  particular  act  of  meanness  which  I  allude  to  in  this 
description,  is  forgery.  You,  sir,  have  abetted  and  patron- 
ised the  forging  and  uttering  counterfeit  continental  bills. 
In  the  same  New- York  newspapers  in  which  your  own 
proclamation  under  your  master's  authority  was  published, 
offering,  or  pretending  to  offer,  pardon  and  protection  to 
these  states,  there  were  repeated  advertisements  of  counter- 
feit money  for  sale,  and  persons  who  have  come  officially 
from  you,  and  under  the  sanction  of  your  flag,  have  been 
taken  up  in  attempting  to  put  them  off. 

A  conduct  so  basely  mean  in  a  public  character  is  without 
precedent  or  pretence.  Every  nation  on  earth,  whether 
friends  or  enemies,  will  unite  in  despising  you.  'Tis  an  in- 
cendiary war  upon  society,  which  nothing  can  excuse  or  pal- 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


237 


liate, — an  improvement  upon  beggarly  villany — and  shows 
an  inbred  wretchedness  of  heart  made  up  between  the 
venomous  mahgnity  of  a  serpent  and  the  spiteful  imbecility 
of  an  inferior  reptile. 

The  laws  of  any  civilized  country  would  condemn  you  to 
the  gibbet  without  regard  to  your  rank  or  titles,  because  it 
is  an  action  foreign  to  the  usage  and  custom  of  war;  and 
should  you  fall  into  our  hands,  which  pray  God  you  may,  it 
will  be  a  doubtful  matter  whether  we  are  to  consider  you  as 
a  military  prisoner  or  a  prisoner  for  felony. 

Besides,  it  is  exceedingly  unwise  and  impolitic  in  you,  or 
any  other  persons  in  the  English  service,  to  promote  or 
even  encourage,  or  wink  at  the  crime  of  forgery,  in  any  case 
whatever.  Because,  as  the  riches  of  England,  as  a  nation, 
are  chiefly  in  paper,  and  the  far  greater  part  of  trade  among 
individuals  is  carried  on  by  the  same  medium,  that  is,  by 
notes  and  drafts  on  one  another,  they,  therefore,  of  all 
people  in  the  world,  ought  to  endeavour  to  keep  forgery  out 
of  sight,  and,  if  possible,  not  to  revive  the  idea  of  it.  It  is 
dangerous  to  make  men  familiar  with  a  crime  which  they 
may  afterwards  practise  to  much  greater  advantage  against 
those  who  first  taught  them.  Several  officers  in  the  English 
army  have  made  their  exit  at  the  gallows  for  forgery  on 
their  agents  ;  for  we  all  know,  who  know  any  thing  of  Eng- 
land, that  there  is  not  a  more  necessitous  body  of  men, 
taking  them  generally,  than  what  the  English  ofificers  are. 
They  contrive  to  make  a  show  at  the  expense  of  the  tailors, 
and  appear  clean  at  the  charge  of  the  washer-women. 

England,  hath  at  this  time,  nearly  two  hundred  million 
pounds  sterling  of  public  money  in  paper,  for  which  she 
hath  no  real  property  :  besides  a  large  circulation  of  bank 
notes,  bank  post  bills,  and  promissory  notes  and  drafts  of 
private  bankers,  merchants  and  tradesmen.  She  hath  the 
greatest  quantity  of  paper  currency  and  the  least  quantity 
of  gold  and  silver  of  any  nation  in  Europe ;  the  real  specie, 
which  is  about  sixteen  millions  sterling,  serves  only  as 
change  in  large  sums,  which  are  always  made  in  paper,  or 
for  payment  in  small  ones.    Thus  circumstanced,  the  nation 


238  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


is  put  to  its  wit's  end,  and  obliged  to  be  severe  almost  to 
criminality,  to  prevent  the  practice  and  growth  of  forgery. 
Scarcely  a  session  passes  at  the  Old  Bailey,  or  an  execution 
at  Tyburn,  but  witnesseth  this  truth,  yet  you,  sir,  regardless 
of  the  policy  which  her  necessity  obliges  her  to  adopt,  have 
made  your  whole  army  intimate  with  the  crime.  And  as  all 
armies  at  the  conclusion  of  a  war,  are  too  apt  to  carry  into 
practice  the  vices  of  the  campaign,  it  will  probably  happen, 
that  England  will  hereafter  abound  in  forgeries,  to  which 
art  the  practitioners  were  first  initiated  under  your  authority 
in  America.  You,  sir,  have  the  honour  of  adding  a  new  vice 
to  the  military  catalogue  ;  and  the  reason,  perhaps,  why  the 
invention  was  reserved  for  you,  is,  because  no  general  before 
was  mean  enough  even  to  think  of  it. 

That  a  man  whose  soul  is  absorbed  in  the  low  traffic  of 
vulgar  vice,  is  incapable  of  moving  in  any  superior  region,  is 
clearly  shown  in  you  by  the  event  of  every  campaign.  Your 
military  exploits  have  been  without  plan,  object  or  decision. 
Can  it  be  possible  that  you  or  your  employers  suppose  that 
the  possession  of  Philadelphia  will  be  any  ways  equal  to  the 
expense  or  expectation  of  the  nation  which  supports  you  ? 
What  advantages  does  England  derive  from  any  achieve- 
ments of  yours?  To  her  it  is  perfectly  indifferent  what 
place  you  are  in,  so  long  as  the  business  of  conquest  is 
unperformed  and  the  charge  of  maintaining  you  remains  the 
same. 

If  the  principal  events  of  the  three  campaigns  be  attended 
to,  the  balance  will  appear  against  you  at  the  close  of  each ; 
but  the  last,  in  point  of  importance  to  us,  has  exceeded  the 
former  two.  It  is  pleasant  to  look  back  on  dangers  past, 
and  equally  as  pleasant  to  meditate  on  present  ones  when 
the  way  out  begins  to  appear.  That  period  is  now  arrived, 
and  the  long  doubtful  winter  of  war  is  changing  to  the 
sweeter  prospects  of  victory  and  joy.  At  the  close  of  the 
campaign,  in  1775,  you  were  obliged  to  retreat  from  Boston. 
In  the  summer  of  1776,  you  appeared  with  a  numerous  fleet 
and  army  in  the  harbor  of  New-York.  By  what  miracle  the 
continent  was  preserved  in  that  season  of  danger  is  a  subject 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


239 


of  admiration  !  If  instead  of  wasting  your  time  against 
Long-Island  you  had  run  up  the  North  river,  and  landed 
any  where  above  New-York,  the  consequence  must  have 
been,  that  either  you  would  have  compelled  general  Wash- 
ington to  fight  you  with  very  unequal  numbers,  or  he  must 
have  suddenly  evacuated  the  city  with  the  loss  of  nearly  all 
the  stores  of  his  army,  or  have  surrendered  for  want  of 
provisions ;  the  situation  of  the  place  naturally  producing 
one  or  the  other  of  these  events. 

The  preparations  made  to  defend  New-York  were,  never- 
theless, wise  and  military ;  because  your  forces  were  then  at 
sea,  their  numbers  uncertain  ;  storms,  sickness,  or  a  variety 
of  accidents  might  have  disabled  their  coming,  or  so  dimin- 
ished them  on  their  passage,  that  those  which  survived 
would  have  been  incapable  of  opening  the  campaign  with 
any  prospect  of  success ;  in  which  case  the  defence  would 
have  been  sufificient  and  the  place  preserved  ;  for  cities  that 
have  been  raised  from  nothing  with  an  infinitude  of  labour 
and  expense,  are  not  to  be  thrown  away  on  the  bare  prob- 
ability of  their  being  taken.  On  these  grounds  the  prepara- 
tions made  to  maintain  New- York  were  as  judicious  as  the 
retreat  afterwards.  While  you,  in  the  interim,  let  slip 
the  very  opportunity  which  seemed  to  put  conquest  in  your 
power. 

Through  the  whole  of  that  campaign  you  had  nearly 
double  the  forces  which  general  Washington  immediately 
commanded.  The  principal  plan  at  that  time,  on  our  part, 
was  to  wear  away  the  season  with  as  little  loss  as  possible, 
and  to  raise  the  army  for  the  next  year.  Long-Island,  New- 
York,  forts  Washington  and  Lee  were  not  defended  after 
your  superior  force  was  known  under  any  expectation  of 
their  being  finally  maintained,  but  as  a  range  of  outworks,  in 
the  attacking  of  which  your  time  might  be  wasted,  your 
numbers  reduced,  and  your  vanity  amused  by  possessing 
them  on  our  retreat.  It  was  intended  to  have  withdrawn 
the  garrison  from  fort  Washington  after  it  had  answered 
the  former  of  those  purposes,  but  the  fate  of  that  day  put  a 
prize  into  your  hands  without  much  honor  to  yourselves. 


240  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


Your  progress  through  the  Jerseys  was  accidental ;  you 
had  it  not  even  in  contemplation,  or  you  would  not  have  sent 
a  principal  part  of  your  forces  to  Rhode-Island  beforehand. 
The  utmost  hope  of  America  in  the  year  1776,  reached  no 
higher  than  that  she  might  not  then  be  conquered.  She 
had  no  expectation  of  defeating  you  in  that  campaign.  Even 
the  most  cowardly  tory  allowed,  that,  could  she  withstand 
the  shock  of  that  summer,  her  independence  would  be  past 
a  doubt.  You  had  then  greatly  the  advantage  of  her.  You 
were  formidable.  Your  military  knowledge  was  supposed  to 
be  complete.  Your  fleets  and  forces  arrived  without  an  acci- 
dent. You  had  neither  experience  nor  reinforcements  to 
wait  for.  You  had  nothing  to  do  but  to  begin,  and  your 
chance  lay  in  the  first  vigorous  onset. 

America  was  young  and  unskilled.  She  was  obliged  to 
trust  her  defence  to  time  and  practice ;  and  hath,  by  mere 
dint  of  perseverance,  maintained  her  cause,  and  brought  the 
enemy  to  a  condition,  in  which  she  is  now  capable  of  meet- 
ing him  on  any  grounds. 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  the  campaign  of  1776  you  gained 
no  more,  notwithstanding  your  great  force,  than  what  was 
given  you  by  consent  of  evacuation,  except  fort  Washington  ; 
while  every  advantage  obtained  by  us  was  by  fair  and  hard 
fighting.  The  defeat  of  Sir  Peter  Parker  was  complete. ' 
The  conquest  of  the  Hessians  at  Trenton,  by  the  remains  of 
a  retreating  army,  which  but  a  few  days  before  you  affected 
to  despise,  is  an  instance  of  their  heroic  perseverance  very  sel- 
dom to  be  met  with.  And  the  victory  over  the  British  troops 
at  Princeton,  by  a  harassed  and  wearied  party,  who  had  been 
engaged  the  day  before  and  marched  all  night  without 
refreshment,  is  attended  with  such  a  scene  of  circumstances 
and  superiority  of  generalship,  as  will  ever  give  it  a  place  in 
the  first  rank  in  the  history  of  great  actions. 

When  I  look  back  on  the  gloomy  days  of  last  winter,  and 
see  America  suspended  by  a  thread,  I  feel  a  triumph  of  joy 
at  the  recollection  of  her  delivery,  and  a  reverence  for  the 
characters  which  snatched  her  from  destruction.    To  doubt 

'  At  Cape  Fear,  April,  1776. 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


-'41 


now  would  be  a  species  of  infidelity,  and  to  forget  the 
instruments  which  saved  us  then  would  be  ingratitude. 

The  close  of  that  campaign  left  us  with  the  spirit  of  con- 
querors. The  northern  districts  were  relieved  by  the  retreat 
of  general  Carleton  over  the  lakes.  The  army  under  your 
command  were  hunted  back  and  had  their  bounds  pre- 
scribed. The  continent  began  to  feel  its  military  impor- 
tance, and  the  winter  passed  pleasantly  away  in  preparations 
for  the  next  campaign. 

However  confident  you  might  be  on  your  first  arrival,  the 
result  of  the  year  1776  gave  you  some  idea  of  the  difificulty, 
if  not  impossibility  of  conquest.  To  this  reason  I  ascribe 
your  delay  in  opening  the  campaign  of  1777.  The  face  of 
matters,  on  the  close  of  the  former  year,  gave  you  no  en- 
couragement to  pursue  a  discretionary  war  as  soon  as  the 
spring  admitted  the  taking  the  field  ;  for  though  conquest, 
in  that  case,  would  have  given  you  a  double  portion  of 
fame,  yet  the  experiment  was  too  hazardous.  The  minis- 
try, had  you  failed,  would  have  shifted  the  whole  blame 
upon  you,  charged  you  with  having  acted  without  orders, 
and  condemned  at  once  both  your  plan  and  execution. 

To  avoid  the  misfortunes,  which  might  have  involved  you 
and  your  money  accounts  in  perplexity  and  suspicion,  you 
prudently  waited  the  arrival  of  a  plan  of  operations  from 
England,  which  was  that  you  should  proceed  for  Philadel- 
phia by  way  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  that  Burgoyne,  after 
reducing  Ticonderoga,  should  take  his  route  by  Albany, 
and,  if  necessary,  join  you. 

The  splendid  laurels  of  the  last  campaign  have  flourished 
in  the  north.  In  that  quarter  America  has  surprised  the 
world,  and  laid  the  foundation  of  this  year's  glory.  The 
conquest  of  Ticonderoga,  (if  it  may  be  called  a  conquest) 
has,  like  all  your  other  victories,  led  on  to  ruin.  Even  the 
provisions  taken  in  that  fortress  (which  by  general  Bur- 
goyne's  return  was  sufificient  in  bread  and  flour  for  nearly 
5000  men  for  ten  weeks,  and  in  beef  and  pork  for  the  same 
number  of  men  for  one  month)  served  only  to  hasten  his 
overthrow,  by  enabling  him  to  proceed  to  Saratoga,  the 

VOL.  I.  — 16 


242  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


place  of  his  destruction.  A  short  review  of  the  operations 
of  the  last  campaign  will  show  the  condition  of  affairs  on 
both  sides. 

You  have  taken  Ticonderoga  and  marched  into  Philadel- 
phia. These  are  all  the  events  which  the  year  hath  pro- 
duced on  your  part.  A  trifling  campaign  indeed,  compared 
with  the  expenses  of  England  and  the  conquest  of  the  con- 
tinent. On  the  other  side,  a  considerable  part  of  your  north- 
ern force  has  been  routed  by  the  New-York  militia  under 
general  Herkemer.  Fort  Stanwix  has  bravely  survived  a 
compound  attack  of  soldiers  and  savages,  and  the  besiegers 
have  fled.  The  battle  of  Bennington  has  put  a  thousand 
prisoners  into  our  hands,  with  all  their  arms,  stores,  artillery 
and  baggage.  General  Burgoyne,  in  two  engagements,  has 
been  defeated  ;  himself,  his  army,  and  all  that  were  his  and 
theirs  are  now  ours.  Ticonderoga  and  Independence  [forts] 
are  retaken,  and  not  the  shadow  of  an  enemy  remains  in  all 
the  northern  districts.  At  this  instant  we  have  upwards  of 
eleven  thousand  prisoners,  between  sixty  and  seventy  [cap- 
tured] pieces  of  brass  ordnance,  besides  small  arms,  tents, 
stores,  etc. 

In  order  to  know  the  real  value  of  those  advantages,  we 
must  reverse  the  scene,  and  suppose  general  Gates  and  the 
force  he  commanded,  to  be  at  your  mercy  as  prisoners,  and 
general  Burgoyne,  with  his  army  of  soldiers  and  savages,  to 
be  already  joined  to  you  in  Pennsylvania.  So  dismal  a 
picture  can  scarcely  be  looked  at.  It  has  all  the  tracings 
and  colorings  of  horror  and  despair ;  and  excites  the  most 
swelling  emotions  of  gratitude  by  exhibiting  the  miseries  we 
are  so  graciously  preserved  from. 

I  admire  the  distribution  of  laurels  around  the  continent. 
It  is  the  earnest  of  future  union.  South-Carolina  has  had 
her  day  of  sufferings  and  of  fame ;  and  the  other  southern 
states  have  exerted  themselves  in  proportion  to  the  force 
that  invaded  or  insulted  them.  Towards  the  close  of  the 
campaign,  in  1776,  these  middle  states  were  called  upon  and 
did  their  duty  nobly.  They  were  witnesses  to  the  almost 
expiring  flame  of  human  freedom.    It  was  the  close  strug- 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


243 


gle  of  life  and  death,  the  Hne  of  invisible  division  ;  and  on 
which  the  unabated  fortitude  of  a  Washington  prevailed, 
and  saved  the  spark  that  has  since  blazed  in  the  north  with 
unrivalled  lustre. 

Let  me  ask,  sir,  what  great  exploits  have  you  performed  ? 
Through  all  the  variety  of  changes  and  opportunities  which 
the  war  has  produced,  I  know  no  one  action  of  yours  that 
can  be  styled  masterly.  You  have  moved  in  and  out,  back- 
ward and  forward,  round  and  round,  as  if  valor  consisted  in 
a  military  jig.  The  history  and  figure  of  your  movements 
would  be  truly  ridiculous  could  they  be  justly  delineated. 
They  resemble  the  labours  of  a  puppy  pursuing  his  tail ;  the 
end  is  still  at  the  same  distance,  and  all  the  turnings  round 
must  be  done  over  again. 

The  first  appearance  of  affairs  at  Ticonderoga  wore  such 
an  unpromising  aspect,  that  it  was  necessary,  in  July,  to 
detach  a  part  of  the  forces  to  the  support  of  that  quarter, 
which  were  otherwise  destined  or  intended  to  act  against 
you ;  and  this,  perhaps,  has  been  the  means  of  postponing 
your  downfall  to  another  campaign.  The  destruction  of 
one  army  at  a  time  is  work  enough.  We  know,  sir,  what  we 
are  about,  what  we  have  to  do,  and  how  to  do  it. 

Your  progress  from  the  Chesapeake,  was  marked  by  no 
capital  stroke  of  policy  or  heroism.  Your  principal  aim  was 
to  get  general  Washington  between  the  Delaware  and 
Schuylkill,  and  between  Philadelphia  and  your  army.  In 
that  situation,  with  a  river  on  each  of  his  flanks,  which 
united  about  five  miles  below  the  city,  and  your  army  above 
him,  you  could  have  intercepted  his  reinforcements  and  sup- 
plies, cut  off  all  his  communication  with  the  country,  and,  if 
necessary,  have  despatched  assistance  to  open  a  passage  for 
general  Burgoyne.  This  scheme  was  too  visible  to  succeed  : 
for  had  general  Washington  suffered  you  to  command  the 
open  country  above  him,  I  think  it  a  very  reasonable  conjec- 
ture that  the  conquest  of  Burgoyne  would  not  have  taken 
place,  because  you  could,  in  that  case,  have  relieved  him. 
It  was  therefore  necessary,  while  that  important  victory  was 
in  suspense,  to  trepan  you  into  a  situation  in  which  you 


244  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


could  only  be  on  the  defensive,  without  the  power  of  afford- 
ing him  assistance.  The  manoeuvre  had  its  effect,  and  Bur- 
goyne  was  conquered.' 

There  has  been  something  unmilitary  and  passive  in  you 
from  the  time  of  your  passing  the  Schuylkill  and  getting 
possession  of  Philadelphia,  to  the  close  of  the  campaign. 
You  mistook  a  trap  for  a  conquest,  the  probability  of  which 
had  been  made  known  to  Europe,  and  the  edge  of  your  tri- 
umph taken  off  by  our  own  information  long  before. 

Having  got  you  into  this  situation,  a  scheme  for  a  general 
attack  upon  you  at  Germantown  was  carried  into  execution 
on  the  4th  of  October,  and  though  the  success  was  not  equal 
to  the  excellence  of  the  plan,  yet  the  attempting  it  proved 
the  genius  of  America  to  be  on  the  rise,  and  her  power  ap- 
proaching to  superiority.  The  obscurity  of  the  morning 
was  your  best  friend,  for  a  fog  is  always  favourable  to  a 
hunted  enemy.  Some  weeks  after  this  you  likewise  planned 
an  attack  on  general  Washington,  while  at  Whitemarsh. 
You  marched  out  with  infinite  parade,  but  on  finding  him 
preparing  to  attack  you  next  morning,  you  prudently  turned 
about,  and  retreated  to  Philadelphia  with  all  the  precipita- 
tion of  a  man  conquered  in  imagination. 

Immediately  after  the  battle  of  Germantown,  the  proba- 
bility of  Burgoyne's  defeat  gave  a  new  policy  to  affairs  in 
Pennsylvania,  and  it  was  judged  most  consistent  with  the 
general  safety  of  America,  to  wait  the  issue  of  the  northern 
campaign.  Slow  and  sure  is  sound  work.  The  news  of  that 
victory  arrived  in  our  camp  on  the  1 8th  of  October,  and  no 
sooner  did  that  shout  of  joy,  and  the  report  of  the  thirteen 
cannon  reach  your  ears,  than  you  resolved  upon  a  retreat, 
and  the  next  day,  that  is,  on  the  19th,  you  withdrew  your 
drooping  army  into  Philadelphia.  This  movement  was 
evidently  dictated  by  fear ;  and  carried  with  it  a  positive 
confession  that  you  dreaded  a  second  attack.    It  was  hiding 

'  This  ascription  to  Washington  of  a  participation  in  the  capture  of  Burgoyne 
did  him  a  great  and  opportune  service.  The  victory  at  Saratoga  had  made  Gen. 
Gates  such  a  hero  that  a  scheme  on  foot  to  give  him  Washington's  place  as 
Commander-in-Chief. — Editor. 


1778]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  245 


yourself  among  women  and  children,  and  sleeping  away  the 
choicest  part  of  the  campaign  in  expensive  inactivity.  An 
army  in  a  city  can  never  be  a  conquering  army.  The  situa- 
tion admits  only  of  defence.  It  is  mere  shelter :  and 
every  military  power  in  Europe  will  conclude  you  to  be 
eventually  defeated. 

The  time  when  you  made  this  retreat  was  the  very  time 
you  ought  to  have  fought  a  battle,  in  order  to  put  yourself 
in  condition  of  recovering  in  Pennsylvania  what  you  had 
lost  in  Saratoga.  And  the  reason  why  you  did  not,  must  be 
either  prudence  or  cowardice ;  the  former  supposes  your 
inability,  and  the  latter  needs  no  explanation.  I  draw  no 
conclusions,  sir,  but  such  as  are  naturally  deduced  from 
known  and  visible  facts,  and  such  as  will  always  have  a  being 
while  the  facts  which  produced  them  remain  unaltered. 

After  this  retreat  a  new  difficulty  arose  which  exhibited 
the  power  of  Britain  in  a  very  contemptible  light  ;  which 
was  the  attack  and  defence  of  Mud-Island.  For  several 
weeks  did  that  little  unfinished  fortress  stand  out  against  all 
the  attempts  of  admiral  and  general  Howe.  It  was  the  fable 
of  Bender  realized  on  the  Delaware.  Scheme  after  scheme, 
and  force  upon  force  were  tried  and  defeated.  The  garrison, 
with  scarce  anything  to  cover  them  but  their  bravery,  sur- 
vived in  the  midst  of  mud,  shot  and  shells,  and  were  at  last 
obliged  to  give  it  up  more  to  the  powers  of  time  and  gun- 
powder than  to  military  superiority  of  the  besiegers.' 

It  is  my  sincere  opinion  that  matters  are  in  much  worse 
condition  with  you  than  what  is  generally  known.  Your 
master's  speech  at  the  opening  of  parliament,  is  like  a 
soliloquy  on  ill  luck.  It  shows  him  to  be  coming  a  little  to 
his  reason,  for  sense  of  pain  is  the  first  symptom  of  recovery, 
in  profound  stupefaction.  His  condition  is  deplorable.  He 
is  obliged  to  submit  to  all  the  insults  of  France  and  Spain, 
without  daring  to  know  or  resent  them  ;  and  thankful  for  the 
most  trivial  evasions  to  the  most  humble  remonstrances.  The 

'  Paine  himself  acted  an  important  part  in  the  affair  at  Mud  Island.  See  my 
"  Life  of  Thomas  Paine,"  vol.  i.,  pp.  99,  109  ;  also  Paine's  Letter  to  Franklin, 
XXL  of  this  volume. — Editor. 


246 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


time  was  when  he  could  not  deign  an  answer  to  a  petition 
from  America,  and  the  time  now  is  when  he  dare  not  give 
an  answer  to  an  affront  from  France.  The  capture  of 
Burgoyne's  army  will  sink  his  consequence  as  much  in 
Europe  as  in  America.  In  his  speech  he  expresses  his 
suspicions  at  the  warlike  preparations  of  France  and  Spain, 
and  as  he  has  only  the  one  army  which  you  command  to 
support  his  character  in  the  world  with,  it  remains  very 
uncertain  when,  or  in  what  quarter  it  will  be  most  wanted,  or 
can  be  best  employed ;  and  this  will  partly  account  for  the 
great  care  you  take  to  keep  it  from  action  and  attacks,  for 
should  Burgoyne's  fate  be  yours,  which  it  probably  will, 
England  may  take  her  endless  farewell  not  only  of  all 
America  but  of  all  the  West-Indies. 

Never  did  a  nation  invite  destruction  upon  itself  with  the 
eagerness  and  the  ignorance  with  which  Britain  has  done. 
Bent  upon  the  ruin  of  a  young  and  unoffending  country, 
she  has  drawn  the  sword  that  has  wounded  herself  to  the 
heart,  and  in  the  agony  of  her  resentment  has  applied  a 
poison  for  a  cure.  Her  conduct  towards  America  is  a  com- 
pound of  rage  and  lunacy  ;  she  aims  at  the  government  of 
it,  yet  preserves  neither  dignity  nor  character  in  her  methods 
to  obtain  it.  Were  government  a  mere  manufacture  or 
article  of  commerce,  immaterial  by  whom  it  should  be  made 
or  sold,  we  might  as  well  employ  her  as  another,  but  when 
we  consider  it  as  the  fountain  from  whence  the  general 
manners  and  morality  of  a  country  take  their  rise,  that  the 
persons  entrusted  with  the  execution  thereof  are  by  their 
serious  example  an  authority  to  support  these  principles, 
how  abominably  absurd  is  the  idea  of  being  hereafter 
governed  by  a  set  of  men  who  have  been  guilty  of  forgery, 
perjury,  treachery,  theft  and  every  species  of  villainy  which 
the  lowest  wretches  on  earth  could  practise  or  invent.  What 
greater  public  curse  can  befal  any  country  than  to  be  under 
such  authority,  and  what  greater  blessing  than  to  be  deliv- 
ered therefrom.  The  soul  of  any  man  of  sentiment  would 
rise  in  brave  rebellion  against  them,  and  spurn  them  from 
the  earth. 


177^]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  247 


The  malignant  and  venomous  tempered  general  Vaughan 
has  amused  his  savage  fancy  in  burning  the  whole  town  of 
Kingston,  in  York  government,  and  the  late  governor  of 
that  state,  Mr.  Tryon,  in  his  letter  to  general  Parsons,  has 
endeavoured  to  justify  it  and  declared  his  wish  to  burn  the 
houses  of  every  committeeman  in  the  country.'  Such  a  con- 
fession from  one  who  was  once  intrusted  with  the  powers  of 
civil  government,  is  a  reproach  to  the  character.  But  it  is 
the  wish  and  the  declaration  of  a  man  whom  anguish  and 
disappointment  have  driven  to  despair,  and  who  is  daily 
decaying  into  the  grave  with  constitutional  rottenness. 

There  is  not  in  the  compass  of  language  a  sufficiency  of 
words  to  express  the  baseness  of  your  king,  his  ministry  and 
his  army.  They  have  refined  upon  villany  till  it  wants  a 
name.  To  the  fiercer  vices  of  former  ages  they  have  added 
the  dregs  and  scummings  of  the  most  finished  rascality,  and 
are  so  completely  sunk  in  serpentine  deceit,  that  there  is  not 
left  among  them  one  generous  enemy. 

From  such  men  and  such  masters,  may  the  gracious  hand 
of  Heaven  preserve  America !  And  though  the  sufferings 
she  now  endures  are  heavy,  and  severe,  they  are  like  straws 
in  the  wind  compared  to  the  weight  of  evils  she  would  feel 
under  the  government  of  your  king,  and  his  pensioned 
parliament. 

There  is  something  in  meanness  which  excites  a  species 
of  resentment  that  never  subsides,  and  something  in  cruelty 
which  stirs  up  the  heart  to  the  highest  agony  of  human 
hatred  ;  Britain  Jiath  filled  up  both  these  characters  till  no 
addition  can  be  made,  and  hath  not  reputation  left  with  us 
to  obtain  credit  for  the  slightest  promise.  The  will  of  God 
hath  parted  us,  and  the  deed  is  registered  for  eternity. 
When  she  shall  be  a  spot  scarcely  visible  among  the  nations, 
America  shall  flourish  the  favourite  of  heaven,  and  the  friend 
of  mankind. 

For  the  domestic  happiness  of  Britain  and  the  peace  of  the 

'  General  Vaughan  had  been  acting  with  Cornwallis  at  Cape  Fear.  At  the 
beginning  of  hostilities  in  North  Carolina  Tryon  was  governor  there,  and  on  his 
transfer  to  New  York  carried  with  him  a  general  reputation  for  cruelty. — Editor. 


« 

248  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


world,  I  wish  she  had  not  a  foot  of  land  but  what  is  circum- 
scribed within  her  own  island.  Extent  of  dominion  has 
been  her  ruin,  and  instead  of  civilizing  others  has  brutalized 
herself.  Her  late  reduction  of  India,  under  Clive  and  his 
successors,  was  not  so  properly  a  conquest  as  an  extermina- 
tion of  mankind.  She  is  the  only  power  who  could  practise 
the  prodigal  barbarity  of  tying  men  to  mouths  of  loaded 
cannon  and  blowing  them  away.  It  happens  that  general 
Burgoyne,  who  made  the  report  of  that  horrid  transaction, 
in  the  house  of  commons,  is  now  a  prisoner  with  us,  and 
though  an  enemy,  I  can  appeal  to  him  for  the  truth  of  it, 
being  confident  that  he  neither  can  nor  will  deny  it.  Yet 
Clive  received  the  approbation  of  the  last  parliament. 

When  we  take  a  survey  of  mankind,  we  cannot  help  cursing 
the  wretch,  who,  to  the  unavoidable  misfortunes  of  nature, 
shall  wilfully  add  the  calamities  of  war.  One  would  think 
there  were  evils  enough  in  the  world  without  studying  to 
increase  them,  and  that  life  is  sufficiently  short  without 
shaking  the  sand  that  measures  it.  The  histories  of  Alex- 
ander, and  Charles  of  Sweden,  are  the  histories  of  human 
devils  ;  a  good  man  cannot  think  of  their  actions  without 
abhorrence,  nor  of  their  deaths  without  rejoicing.  To  see 
the  bounties  of  heaven  destroyed,  the  beautiful  face  of  na- 
ture laid  waste,  and  the  choicest  works  of  creation  and  art 
tumbled  into  ruin,  would  fetch  a  curse  from  the  soul  of  piety 
itself.  But  in  this  country  the  aggravation  is  heightened  by 
a  new  combination  of  affecting  circumstances.  America  was 
young,  and,  compared  with  other  countries,  was  virtuous. 
None  but  a  Herod  of  uncommon  malice  would  have  made 
war  upon  infancy  and  innocence  :  and  none  but  a  people  of 
the  most  finished  fortitude,  dared  under  those  circumstances, 
have  resisted  the  tyranny.  The  natives,  or  their  ancestors, 
had  fled  from  the  former  oppressions  of  England,  and  with 
the  industry  of  bees  had  changed  a  wilderness  into  a  habi- 
table world.  To  Britain  they  were  indebted  for  nothing. 
The  country  was  the  gift  of  heaven,  and  God  alone  is  their 
Lord  and  Sovereign. 

The  time,  sir,  will  come  when  you,  in  a  melancholy  hour, 


1778]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  249 


shall  reckon  up  your  miseries  by  your  murders  in  America. 
Life,  with  you,  begins  to  wear  a  clouded  aspect.  The  vision 
of  pleasurable  delusion  is  wearing  away,  and  changing  to  the 
barren  wild  of  age  and  sorrow.  The  poor  reflection  of 
having  served  your  king  will  yield  you  no  consolation  in 
your  parting  moments.  He  will  crumble  to  the  same  undis- 
tinguished ashes  with  yourself,  and  have  sins  enough  of  his 
own  to  answer  for.  It  is  not  the  farcical  benedictions  of  a 
bishop,  nor  the  cringing  hypocrisy  of  a  court  of  chaplains, 
nor  the  formality  of  an  act  of  parliament,  that  can  change 
guilt  into  innocence,  or  make  the  punishment  one  pang  the 
less.  You  may,  perhaps,  be  unwilling  to  be  serious,  but 
this  destruction  of  the  goods  of  Providence,  this  havoc  of 
the  human  race,  and  this  sowing  the  world  with  mischief, 
must  be  accounted  for  to  him  who  made  and  governs  it.  To 
us  they  are  only  present  sufferings,  but  to  him  they  are  deep 
rebellions. 

If  there  is  a  sin  superior  to  every  other,  it  is  that  of  wilful 
and  offensive  war.  Most  other  sins  are  circumscribed  within 
narrow  limits,  that  is,  the  power  of  one  man  cannot  give  them 
a  very  general  extension,  and  many  kinds  of  sins  have  only 
a  mental  existence  from  which  no  infection  arises  ;  but  he 
who  is  the  author  of  a  war,  lets  loose  the  whole  contagion  of 
hell,  and  opens  a  vein  that  bleeds  a  nation  to  death.  We 
leave  it  to  England  and  Indians  to  boast  of  these  honors ; 
we  feel  no  thirst  for  such  savage  glory  ;  a  nobler  flame,  a 
purer  spirit  animates  America.  She  has  taken  up  the  sword 
of  virtuous  defence  ;  she  has  bravely  put  herself  between 
Tyranny  and  Freedom,  between  a  curse  and  a  blessing,  de- 
termined to  expel  the  one  and  protect  the  other. 

It  is  the  object  only  of  war  that  makes  it  honourable.  And 
if  there  was  ever  a  just  war  since  the  world  began,  it  is  this 
in  which  America  is  now  engaged.  She  invaded  no  land  of 
yours.  She  hired  no  mercenaries  to  burn  your  towns,  nor 
Indians  to  massacre  their  inhabitants.  She  wanted  nothing 
from  you,  and  was  indebted  for  nothing  to  you  :  and  thus 
circumstanced,  her  defence  is  honourable  and  her  prosperity 
is  certain. 


250  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


Yet  it  is  not  on  the  justice  only,  but  likewise  on  the  im- 
portmice  of  this  cause  that  I  ground  my  seeming  enthusiasti- 
cal  confidence  of  our  success.  The  vast  extension  of  America 
makes  her  of  too  much  value  in  the  scale  of  Providence,  to 
be  cast  like  a  pearl  before  swine,  at  the  feet  of  an  European 
island  ;  and  of  much  less  consequence  would  it  be  that 
Britain  were  sunk  in  the  sea  than  that  America  should  mis- 
carry. There  has  been  such  a  chain  of  extraordinary  events 
in  the  discovery  of  this  country  at  first,  in  the  peopling  and 
and  planting  it  afterwards,  in  the  rearing  and  nursing  it  to 
its  present  state,  and  in  the  protection  of  it  through  the 
present  war,  that  no  man  can  doubt,  but  Providence  hath 
some  nobler  end  to  accomplish  than  the  gratification  of  the 
petty  elector  of  Hanover,  or  the  ignorant  and  insignificant 
king  of  Britain. 

As  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  hath  been  the  seed  of  the 
Christian  church,  so  the  political  persecutions  of  England 
will  and  have  already  enriched  America  with  industry,  ex- 
perience, union,  and  importance.  Before  the  present  era 
she  was  a  mere  chaos  of  uncemented  colonies,  individually 
exposed  to  the  ravages  of  the  Indians  and  the  invasion  of 
any  power  that  Britain  should  be  at  war  with.  She  had 
nothing  that  she  could  call  her  own.  Her  felicity  depended 
upon  accident.  The  convulsions  of  Europe  might  have 
thrown  her  from  one  conqueror  to  another,  till  she  had  been 
the  slave  of  all,  and  ruined  by  every  one  ;  for  until  she  had 
spirit  enough  to  become  her  own  master,  there  was  no  know- 
ing to  which  master  she  should  belong.  That  period,  thank 
God,  is  past,  and  she  is  no  longer  the  dependant,  disunited 
colonies  of  Britain,  but  the  Independent  and  United  States 
of  America,  knowing  no  master  but  heaven  and  herself. 
You,  or  your  king,  may  call  this  "  delusion,"  "  rebellion,"  or 
what  name  you  please.  To  us  it  is  perfectly  indifferent. 
The  issue  will  determine  the  character,  and  time  will  give  it 
a  name  as  lasting  as  his  own. 

You  have  now,  sir,  tried  the  fate  of  three  campaigns,  and 
can  fully  declare  to  England,  that  nothing  is  to  be  got  on 
your  part,  but  blows  and  broken  bones,  and  nothing  on  hers 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


251 


but  waste  of  trade  and  credit,  and  an  increase  of  poverty 
and  taxes.  You  are  now  only  where  you  might  have  been 
two  years  ago,  without  the  loss  of  a  single  ship,  and  yet  not 
a  step  more  forward  towards  the  conquest  of  the  continent ; 
because,  as  I  have  already  hinted,  "  an  army  in  a  city  can 
never  be  a  conquering  army."  The  full  amount  of  your 
losses,  since  the  beginning  of  the  war,  exceeds  twenty  thou- 
sand men,  besides  millions  of  treasure,  for  which  you  have 
nothing  in  exchange.  Our  expenses,  though  great,  are  cir- 
culated within  ourselves.  Yours  is  a  direct  sinking  of  money, 
and  that  from  both  ends  at  once  ;  first,  in  hiring  troops  out 
of  the  nation,  and  in  paying  them  afterwards,  because  the 
money  in  neither  case  can  return  to  Britain.  We  are 
already  in  possession  of  the  prize,  you  only  in  pursuit  of  it. 
To  us  it  is  a  real  treasure,  to  you  it  would  be  only  an  empty 
triumph.  Our  expenses  will  repay  themselves  with  tenfold 
interest,  while  yours  entail  upon  you  everlasting  poverty. 

Take  a  review,  sir,  of  the  ground  which  you  have  gone 
over,  and  let  it  teach  you  policy,  if  it  cannot  honesty.  You 
stand  but  on  a  very  tottering  foundation.  A  change  of  the 
ministry  in  England  may  probably  bring  your  measures  into 
question,  and  your  head  to  the  block.  Clive,  with  all  his 
successes,  had  some  difficulty  in  escaping,  and  yours  being 
all  a  war  of  losses,  will  afford  you  less  pretensions,  and  your 
enemies  more  grounds  for  impeachment. 

Go  home,  sir,  and  endeavour  to  save  the  remains  of  your 
ruined  country,  by  a  just  representation  of  the  madness  of 
her  measures.  A  few  moments,  well  applied,  may  yet  pre- 
serve her  from  political  destruction.  I  am  not  one  of  those 
who  wish  to  see  Europe  in  a  flame,  because  I  am  persuaded 
that  such  an  event  will  not  shorten  the  war.  The  rupture, 
at  present,  is  confined  between  the  two  powers  of  America 
and  England.  England  finds  that  she  cannot  conquer 
America,  and  America  has  no  wish  to  conquer  England. 
You  are  fighting  for  what  you  can  never  obtain,  and  we 
defending  what  we  never  mean  to  part  with.  A  few  words, 
therefore,  settle  the  bargain.  Let  England  mind  her  own 
business  and  we  will  mind  ours.    Govern  yourselves,  and 


252 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i??^ 


we  will  govern  ourselves.  You  may  then  trade  where  you 
please  unmolested  by  us,  and  we  will  trade  where  we  please 
unmolested  by  you  ;  and  such  articles  as  we  can  purchase  of 
each  other  better  than  elsewhere  may  be  mutually  done.  If 
it  were  possible  that  you  could  carry  on  the  war  for  twenty 
years  you  must  still  come  to  this  point  at  last,  or  worse,  and 
the  sooner  you  think  of  it  the  better  it  will  be  for  you. 

My  ofificial  situation  enables  me  to  know  the  repeated 
insults  which  Britain  is  obliged  to  put  up  with  from  foreign 
powers,  and  the  wretched  shifts  that  she  is  driven  to,  to 
gloss  them  over.'-  Her  reduced  strength  and  exhausted 
coffers  in  a  three  years'  war  with  America,  hath  given  a 
powerful  superiority  to  France  and  Spain.  She  is  not  now 
a  match  for  them.  But  if  neither  councils  can  prevail  on 
her  to  think,  nor  sufferings  awaken  her  to  reason,  she  must 
e'en  go  on,  till  the  honour  of  England  becomes  a  proverb  of 
contempt,  and  Europe  dub  her  the  Land  of  Fools. 
I  am.  Sir,  with  every  wish  for  an  honourable  peace, 
Your  friend,  enemy,  and  countryman, 

Common  Sense. 

to  the  inhabitants  of  america. 

With  all  the  pleasure  with  which  a  man  exchanges  bad 
company  for  good,  I  take  my  leave  of  Sir  William  and 
return  to  you.  It  is  now  nearly  three  years  since  the  tyr- 
rany  of  Britain  received  its  first  repulse  by  the  arms  of 
America.  A  period  which  has  given  birth  to  a  new  world, 
and  erected  a  monument  to  the  folly  of  the  old. 

I  cannot  help  being  sometimes  surprised  at  the  compli- 
mentary references  which  I  have  seen  and  heard  made  to 
ancient  histories  and  transactions.  The  wisdom,  civil  govern- 
ments, and  sense  of  honor  of  the  states  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
are  frequently  held  up  as  objects  of  excellence  and  imita- 

'  Paine,  elected  by  Congress,  April  17,  1777,  Secretary  of  its  Committee  of 
Foreign  Affairs,  was  really  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  not  improperly 
so  styled  in  many  publications. — Editor, 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


tion.  Mankind  have  lived  to  very  little  purpose,  if,  at  this 
period  of  the  world,  they  naust  go  two  or  three  thousand 
years  back  for  lessons  and  examples.  We  do  great  injustice 
to  ourselves  by  placing  them  in  such  a  superior  line.  We 
have  no  just  authority  for  it,  neither  can  we  tell  why  it  is 
that  we  should  suppose  ourselves  inferior. 

Could  the  mist  of  antiquity  be  cleared  away,  and  men 
and  things  be  viewed  as  they  really  were,  it  is  more  than 
probable  that  they  would  admire  us,  rather  than  we  them. 
America  has  surmounted  a  greater  variety  and  combination 
of  difficulties,  than,  I  believe,  ever  fell  to  the  share  of  any 
one  people,  in  the  same  space  of  time,  and  has  replenished 
the  world  with  more  useful  knowledge  and  sounder  maxims 
of  civil  government  than  were  ever  produced  in  any  age 
before.  Had  it  not  been  for  America,  there  had  been  no 
such  thing  as  freedom  left  throughout  the  whole  universe. 
England  hath  lost  hers  in  a  long  chain  of  right  reasoning 
from  wrong  principles,  and  it  is  from  this  country,  now,  that 
she  must  learn  the  resolution  to  redress  herself,  and  the 
wisdom  how  to  accomplish  it. 

The  Grecians  and  Romans  were  strongly  possessed  of  the 
spirit  of  liberty  but  not  the  principle,  for  at  the  time  that 
they  were  determined  not  to  be  slaves  themselves,  they  em- 
ployed their  power  to  enslave  the  rest  of  mankind.  But  this 
distinguished  era  is  blotted  by  no  one  misanthropical  vice. 
In  short,  if  the  principle  on  which  the  cause  is  founded,  the- 
universal  blessings  that  are  to  arise  from  it,  the  difficulties 
that  accompanied  it,  the  wisdom  with  which  it  has  been 
debated,  the  fortitude  by  which  it  has  been  supported,  the 
strength  of  the  power  which  we  had  to  oppose,  and  the  con- 
dition in  which  we  undertook  it,  be  all  taken  in  one  view, 
we  may  justly  style  it  the  most  virtuous  and  illustrious  revo- 
lution that  ever  graced  the  history  of  mankind. 

A  good  opinion  of  ourselves  is  exceedingly  necessary  in 
private  life,  but  absolutely  necessary  in  public  life,  and  of 
the  utmost  importance  in  supporting  national  character.  I 
have  no  notion  of  yielding  the  palm  of  the  United  States 
to  any  Grecians  or  Romans  that  were  ever  born.    We  have 


254  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


equalled  the  bravest  in  times  of  danger,  and  excelled  the 
wisest  in  construction  of  civil  governments. 

From  this  agreeable  eminence  let  us  take  a  review  of 
present  affairs.  The  spirit  of  corruption  is  so  inseparably 
interwoven  with  British  politics,  that  their  ministry  suppose 
all  mankind  are  governed  by  the  same  motives.  They  have 
no  idea  of  a  people  submitting  even  to  temporary  inconven- 
ience from  an  attachment  to  rights  and  privileges.  Their 
plans  of  business  are  calculated  by  the  hour  and  for  the  hour, 
and  are  uniform  in  nothing  but  the  corruption  which  gives 
them  birth.  They  never  had,  neither  have  they  at  this  time, 
any  regular  plan  for  the  conquest  of  America  by  arms.  They 
know  not  how  to  go  about  it,  neither  have  they  power  to 
effect  it  if  they  did  know.  The  thing  is  not  within  the 
compass  of  human  practicability,  for  America  is  too  exten- 
sive either  to  be  fully  conquered  or  passively  defended.  But 
she  may  be  actively  defended  by  defeating  or  making  pris- 
oners of  the  army  that  invades  her.  And  this  is  the  only 
system  of  defence  that  can  be  effectual  in  a  large  country. 

There  is  something  in  a  war  carried  on  by  invasion  which 
makes  it  differ  in  circumstances  from  any  other  mode  of 
war,  because  he  who  conducts  it  cannot  tell  whether  the 
ground  he  gains  be  for  him,  or  against  him,  when  he  first 
obtains  it.  In  the  winter  of  1776,  general  Howe  marched 
with  an  air  of  victory  through  the  Jerseys,  the  consequence 
of  which  was  his  defeat  ;  and  general  Burgoyne  at  Saratoga 
experienced  the  same  fate  from  the  same  cause.  The  Span- 
iards, about  two  years  ago,  were  defeated  by  the  Algerines 
in  the  same  manner,  that  is,  their  first  triumphs  became  a 
trap  in  which  they  were  totally  routed.  And  whoever  will 
attend  to  the  circumstances  and  events  of  a  war  carried  on 
by  invasion,  will  find,  that  any  invader,  in  order  to  be  finally 
conquered  must  first  begin  to  conquer. 

I  confess  myself  one  of  those  who  believe  the  loss  of  Phil- 
adelphia to  be  attended  with  more  advantages  than  injuries. 
The  case  stood  thus  :  The  enemy  imagined  Philadelphia  to 
be  of  more  importance  to  us  than  it  really  was ;  for  we  all 
know  that  it  had  long  ceased  to  be  a  port :  not  a  cargo  of 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


goods  had  been  brought  into  it  for  near  a  twelvemonth,  nor 
any  fixed  manufactories,  nor  even  ship-building,  carried  on 
in  it ;  yet  as  the  enemy  believed  the  conquest  of  it  to  be 
practicable,  and  to  that  belief  added  the  absurd  idea  that 
the  soul  of  all  America  was  centred  there,  and  would  be  con- 
quered there,  it  naturally  follows  that  their  possession  of  it, 
by  not  answering  the  end  proposed,  must  break  up  the  plans 
they  had  so  foolishly  gone  upon,  and  either  oblige  them  to 
form  a  new  one,  for  which  their  present  strength  is  not 
sufficient,  or  to  give  over  the  attempt. 

We  never  had  so  small  an  army  to  fight  against,  nor  so 
fair  an  opportunity  of  final  success  as  now.  The  death 
wound  is  already  given.  The  day  is  ours  if  we  follow  it  up. 
The  enemy,  by  his  situation,  is  within  our  reach,  and  by  his 
reduced  strength  is  within  our  power.  The  ministers  of 
Britain  may  rage  as  they  please,  but  our  part  is  to  conquer 
their  armies.  Let  them  wrangle  and  welcome,  but  let  it  not 
draw  our  attention  from  the  one  thing  needful.  Here,  in  this 
spot  is  our  own  business  to  be  accomplished,  our  felicity 
secured.  What  we  have  now  to  do  is  as  clear  as  light,  and 
the  way  to  do  it  is  as  straight  as  a  line.  It  needs  not  to  be 
commented  upon,  yet,  in  order  to  be  perfectly  understood  I 
will  put  a  case  that  cannot  admit  of  a  mistake. 

Had  the  armies  under  generals  Howe  and  Burgoyne  been 
united,  and  taken  post  at  Germantown,  and  had  the  north- 
ern army  under  general  Gates  been  joined  to  that  under 
general  Washington,  at  Whitemarsh,  the  consequence  would 
have  been  a  general  action  ;  and  if  in  that  action  we  had 
killed  and  taken  the  same  number  of  officers  and  men,  that 
is,  between  nine  and  ten  thousand,  with  the  same  quantity 
of  artillery,  arms,  stores,  etc.  as  have  been  taken  at  the 
northward,  and  obliged  general  Howe  with  the  remains  of 
his  army,  that  is,  with  the  same  number  he  now  commands, 
to  take  shelter  in  Philadelphia,  we  should  certainly  have 
thought  ourselves  the  greatest  heroes  in  the  world  ;  and 
should,  as  soon  as  the  season  permitted,  have  collected  to- 
gether all  the  force  of  the  continent  and  laid  siege  to  the 
city,  for  it  requires  a  much  greater  force  to  besiege  an  enemy 


256 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


in  a  town  than  to  defeat  him  in  the  field.  The  case  nozu  is 
just  the  same  as  if  it  had -been  produced  by  the  means  I 
have  here  supposed.  Between  nine  and  ten  thousand  have 
been  killed  and  taken,  all  their  stores  are  in  our  possession, 
and  general  Howe,  in  consequence  of  that  victory,  has 
thrown  himself  for  shelter  into  Philadelphia.'  He,  or  his 
trifling  friend  Galloway,  may  form  what  pretences  they 
please,  yet  no  just  reason  can  be  given  for  their  going  into 
winter  quarters  so  early  as  the  19th  of  October,  but  their 
apprehensions  of  a  defeat  if  they  continued  out,  or  their 
conscious  inability  of  keeping  the  field  with  safety.  I  see 
no  advantage  which  can  arise  to  America  by  hunting  the 
enemy  from  state  to  state.  It  is  a  triumph  without  a  prize, 
and  wholly  unworthy  the  attention  of  a  people  deter- 
mined to  conquer.  Neither  can  any  state  promise  itself 
security  while  the  enemy  remains  in  a  condition  to  transport 
themselves  from  one  part  of  the  continent  to  another. 
Howe,  likewise,  cannot  conquer  where  we  have  no  army  to 
oppose,  therefore  any  such  removals  in  him  are  mean  and 
cowardly,  and  reduces  Britain  to  a  common  pilferer.  If  he 
retreats  from  Philadelphia,  he  will  be  despised  ;  if  he  stays, 
he  may  be  shut  up  and  starved  out,  and  the  country,  if  he 
advances  into  it,  may  become  his  Saratoga.  He  has  his 
choice  of  evils  and  we  of  opportunities.  If  he  moves  early, 
it  is  not  only  a  sign  but  a  proof  that  he  expects  no  rein- 
forcement, and  his  delay  will  prove  that  he  either  waits  for 
the  arrival  of  a  plan  to  go  upon,  or  force  to  execute  it,  or 
both ;  in  wliicJi  case  our  strength  will  increase  more  than 
his,  therefore  in  any  case  we  cannot  be  wrong  if  we  do  but 
proceed. 

The  particular  condition  of  Pennsylvania  deserves  the  at- 
tention of  all  the  other  states.  Her  military  strength  must 
not  be  estimated  by  the  number  of  inhabitants.  Here  are 
men  of  all  nations,  characters,  professions  and  interests. 

'  In  a  private  letter  to  Franklin,  in  Paris,  Paine  intimated  a  probable  advan- 
tage from  the  British  occupation  of  Philadelphia.  It  is  said  that  Franklin, 
hearing  it  said  that  Howe  had  taken  Philadelphia,  remarked,  "  Philadelphia 
has  taken  Howe." — Editor. 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


257 


Here  are  the  firmest  whigs,  surviving,  like  sparks  in  the 
ocean,  unquenched  and  uncooled  in  the  midst  of  discourage- 
ment and  disaffection.  Here  are  men  losing  their  all  with 
cheerfulness,  and  collecting  fire  and  fortitude  from  the 
flames  of  their  own  estates.  Here  are  others  skulking  in 
secret,  many  making  a  market  of  the  times,  and  numbers 
who  are  changing  to  whig  or  tory  with  the  circumstances  of 
every  day. 

It  is  by  mere  dint  of  fortitude  and  perseverance  that  the 
whigs  of  this  state  have  been  able  to  maintain  so  good  a 
countenance,  and  do  even  what  they  have  done.  We  want 
help,  and  the  sooner  it  can  arrive  the  more  effectual  it  will 
be.  The  invaded  state,  be  it  which  it  may,  will  always  feel 
an  additional  burden  upon  its  back,  and  be  hard  set  to  sup- 
port its  civil  power  with  sufficient  authority  ;  aud  this  diffi- 
culty will  rise  or  fall,  in  proportion  as  the  other  states  throw 
in  their  assistance  to  the  common  cause. 

The  enemy  will  most  probably  make  many  manoeuvres  at 
the  opening  of  this  campaign,  to  amuse  and  draw  off  the 
attention  of  the  several  states  from  the  one  thing  needful. 
We  may  expect  to  hear  of  alarms  and  pretended  expedi- 
tions to  this  place  and  tliat  place,  to  the  southward,  the 
eastward,  and  the  northward,  all  intended  to  prevent  our 
forming  into  one  formidable  body.  The  less  the  enemy's 
strength  is,  the  more  subtleties  of  this  kind  will  they  make 
use  of.  Their  existence  depends  upon  it,  because  the  force 
of  America,  when  collected,  is  sufficient  to  swallow  their 
present  army  up.  It  is  therefore  our  business  to  make  short 
work  of  it,  by  bending  our  whole  attention  to  this  one  prin- 
cipal point,  for  the  instant  that  the  main  body  under  general 
Howe  is  defeated,  all  the  inferior  alarms  throughout  the 
continent,  like  so  many  shadows,  will  follow  his  downfall. 

The  only  way  to  finish  a  war  with  the  least  possible  blood- 
shed, or  perhaps  without  any,  is  to  collect  an  army,  against 
the  power  of  which  the  enemy  shall  have  no  chance.  By 
not  doing  this,  we  prolong  the  war,  and  double  both  the 
calamities  and  expenses  of  it.  What  a  rich  and  happy 
country  would  America  be,  were  she,  by  a  vigorous  exer- 


258  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


tion,  to  reduce  Howe  as  she  has  reduced  Burgoyne.  Her 
currency  would  rise  to  miUions  beyond  its  present  value. 
Every  man  would  be  rich,  and  every  man  would  have  it  in 
his  power  to  be  happy.  And  why  not  do  these  things? 
What  is  there  to  hinder?  America  is  her  own  mistress  and 
can  do  what  she  pleases. 

If  we  had  not  at  this  time  a  man  in  the  field,  we  could, 
nevertheless,  raise  an  army  in  a  few  weeks  sufficient  to  over- 
whelm all  the  force  which  general  Howe  at  present  com- 
mands. Vigor  and  determination  will  do  any  thing  and 
every  thing.  We  began  the  war  with  this  kind  of  spirit, 
why  not  end  it  with  the  same?  Here,  gentlemen,  is  the 
enemy.  Here  is  the  army.  The  interest,  the  happiness  of 
all  America,  is  centred  in  this  half  ruined  spot.  Come  and 
help  us.  Here  are  laurels,  come  and  share  them.  Here  are 
tories,  come  and  help  us  to  expel  them.  Here  are  whigs 
that  will  make  you  welcome,  and  enemies  that  dread  your 
coming. 

The  worst  of  all  policies  is  that  of  doing  things  by  halves. 
Penny-wise  and  pound-foolish,  has  been  the  ruin  of  thou- 
sands. The  present  spring,  if  rightly  improved,  will  free  us 
from  our  troubles,  and  save  us  the  expense  of  millions.  We 
have  now  only  one  army  to  cope  with.  No  opportunity  can 
be  fairer;  no  prospect  more  promising.  I  shall  conclude 
this  paper  with  a  few  outlines  of  a  plan,  either  for  filling  up 
the  battalions  with  expedition,  or  for  raising  an  additional 
force,  for  any  limited  time,  on  any  sudden  emergency. 

That  in  which  every  man  is  interested,  is  every  man's  duty 
to  support.  And  any  burden  which  falls  equally  on  all  men, 
and  from  which  every  man  is  to  receive  an  equal  benefit,  is 
consistent  with  the  most  perfect  ideas  of  liberty.  I  would 
wish  to  revive  something  of  that  virtuous  ambition  which 
first  called  America  into  the  field.  Then  every  man  was 
eager  to  do  his  part,  and  perhaps  the  principal  reason  why 
we  have  in  any  degree  fallen  therefrom,  is  because  we  did 
not  set  a  right  value  by  it  at  first,  but  left  it  to  blaze  out  of 
itself,  instead  of  regulating  and  preserving  it  by  just  propor- 
tions of  rest  and  service. 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


259 


Suppose  any  state  whose  number  of  effective  inhabitants 
was  80,000,  should  be  required  to  furnish  3,200  men  towards 
the  defence  of  the  continent  on  any  sudden  emergency. 

1st,  Let  the  whole  number  of  effective  inhabitants  be 
divided  into  hundreds  ;  then  if  each  of  those  hundreds  turn 
out  four  men,  the  whole  number  of  3,200  will  be  had. 

2d,  Let  the  name  of  each  hundred  men  be  entered  in  a 
book,  and  let  four  dollars  be  collected  from  each  man,  with 
as  much  more  as  any  of  the  gentlemen,  whose  abilities  can 
afford  it,  shall  please  to  throw  in,  which  gifts  likewise  shall 
be  entered  against  the  names  of  the  donors. 

3d,  Let  the  sums  so  collected  be  offered  as  a  present,  over 
and  above  the  bounty  of  twenty  dollars,  to  any  four  who 
may  be  inclined  to  propose  themselves  as  volunteers  :  if  more 
than  four  offer,  the  majority  of  the  subscribers  present  shall 
determine  which  ;  if  none  offer,  then  four  out  of  the  hundred 
shall  be  taken  by  lot,  who  shall  be  entitled  to  the  said  sums, 
and  shall  either  go,  or  provide  others  that  will,  in  the  space 
of  six  days. 

4th,  As  it  will  always  happen,  that  in  the  space  of  ground 
on  which  an  hundred  men  shall  live,  there  will  be  always  a 
number  of  persons  who,  by  age  and  infirmity,  are  incapable 
of  doing  personal  service,  and  as  such  persons  are  generally 
possessed  of  the  greatest  part  of  property  in  any  country, 
their  portion  of  service,  therefore,  will  be  to  furnish  each 
man  with  a  blanket,  which  will  make  a  regimental  coat, 
jacket,  and  breeches,  or  clothes  in  lieu  thereof,  and  another 
for  a  watch  cloak,  and  two  pair  of  shoes  ;  for  however  choice 
people  may  be  of  these  things  matters  not  in  cases  of  this 
kind  ;  those  who  live  always  in  houses  can  find  many  ways 
to  keep  themselves  warm,  but  it  is  a  shame  and  a  sin  to 
suffer  a  soldier  in  the  field  to  want  a  blanket  while  there  is 
one  in  the  country. 

Should  the  clothing  not  be  wanted,  the  superannuated  or 
infirm  persons  possessing  property,  may,  in  lieu  thereof, 
throw  in  their  money  subscriptions  towards  increasing  the 
bounty  ;  for  though  age  will  naturally  exempt  a  person  from 
personal  service,  it  cannot  exempt  him  from  his  share  of  the 


26o  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


charge,  because  the  men  are  raised  for  the  defence  of  prop- 
erty and  liberty  jointly. 

There  never  was  a  scheme  against  which  objections  might 
not  be  raised.  But  this  alone  is  not  a  sufficient  reason  for 
rejection.  The  only  line  to  judge  truly  upon,  is,  to  draw  out 
and  admit  all  the  objections  which  can  fairly  be  made,  and 
place  against  them  all  the  contrary  qualities,  conveniences 
and  advantages,  then  by  striking  a  balance  you  come  at  the 
true  character  of  any  scheme,  principle  or  position. 

The  most  material  advantages  of  the  plan  here  proposed 
are,  ease,  expedition,  and  cheapness ;  yet  the  men  so  raised 
get  a  much  larger  bounty  than  is  any  where  at  present  given  ; 
because  all  the  expenses,  extravagance,  and  consequent  idle- 
ness of  recruiting  are  saved  or  prevented.  The  country 
incurs  no  new  debt  nor  interest  thereon ;  the  whole  matter 
being  all  settled  at  once  and  entirely  done  with.  It  is  a 
subscription  answering  all  the  purposes  of  a  tax,  without 
either  the  charge  or  trouble  of  collecting.  The  men  are 
ready  for  the  field  with  the  greatest  possible  expedition,  be- 
cause it  becomes  the  duty  of  the  inhabitants  themselves,  in 
every  part  of  the  country,  to  find  their  proportion  of  men 
instead  of  leaving  it  to  a  recruiting  sergeant,  who,  be  he  ever 
so  industrious,  cannot  know  always  where  to  apply. 

I  do  not  propose  this  as  a  regular  digested  plan,  neither 
will  the  limits  of  this  paper  admit  of  any  further  remarks 
upon  it.  I  believe  it  to  be  a  hint  capable  of  much  improve- 
ment, and  as  such  submit  it  to  the  public. 

Common  Sense. 

Lancaster,  March  21,  1778. 


1778] 


THE  AMERICA.'^  CRISIS. 


261 


THE  CRISIS. 
VI. 

TO    THE    EARL    OF    CARLISLE,    GENERAL    CLINTON,  AND 
WILLIAM  EDEN,  ESQ.,  BRITISH  COMMISSIONERS 
AT  NEW  YORK.' 

There  is  a  dignity  in  the  warm  passions  of  a  whig,  which 
is  never  to  be  found  in  the  cold  malice  of  a  tory.  In  the  one 
nature  is  only  heated — in  the  other  she  is  poisoned.  The 
instant  the  former  has  it  in  his  power  to  punish,  he  feels  a 
disposition  to  forgive ;  but  the  canine  venom  of  the  latter 
knows  no  relief  but  revenge.    This  general  distinction  will, 

'  Five  commissioners  were  originally  appointed  to  "  treat,  consult,  and  agree, 
upon  the  Means  of  quieting  the  Disorders  now  subsisting  in  certain  of  the 
Colonies,  Plantations  and  Provinces  of  North  America."  The  commissioners 
are  thus  described  by  Lord  Mahon  :  "  Lord  Howe  and  Sir  William  were  in- 
cluded in  the  letters  patent  on  the  chance  of  their  being  still  in  America  when 
their  colleagues  should  arrive.  Of  the  new  commissioners  the  first  was  to  be 
Lord  Carlisle,  with  him  William  Eden  and  George  Johnston.  It  could  not  be 
alleged  that  the  selection  of  these  gentlemen  Tiad  been  made  in  any  narrow 
spirit  of  party.  George  Johnston,  who  had  retained  the  title  of  Governor  from 
having  filled  that  post  in  Florida,  was  a  Member  of  the  House  of  Commons,  and 
as  such  a  keen  opponent  of  Lord  North's.  The  brother  of  William  Eden  had 
been  the  last  colonial  Governor  of  Maryland.  William  Eden  himself  was  a 
man  of  rising  ability  on  the  government  side  ;  in  after  years,  under  Mr.  Pitt, 
ambassador  in  succession  to  several  foreign  courts  ;  and  at  last  a  peer  with  the 
title  of  Lord  Auckland.  Frederick  Howard,  the  fifth  Earl  of  Carlisle,  was  then 
only  known  to  the  public  as  a  young  and  not  very  thrifty  man  of  fashion  and 
pleasure.  Against  his  appointment  therefore  there  were  many  cavils  heard  both 
in  and  out  of  Parliament." 

The  Commissioners  reached  America  just  as  the  British  were  evacuating 
Philadelphia.  Johnston  having  made  an  effort  to  approach  members  of  Con- 
gress privately,  and  with  bribes,  that  body  refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with 
him,  and  he  had  to  withdraw  from  the  Commission.  General  Sir  Henry  Clin- 
ton acted  in  his  place.  On  June  6,  1778,  Congress  sent  the  Commissioners  its 
ultimatum,  expressing  its  willingness  to  "  attend  to  such  terms  of  peace  as  may 
consist  with  the  honour  of  independent  nations,  the  interest  of  their  constituents, 
and  the  sacred  regard  they  mean  to  pay  to  treaties."  On  learning  this  the  King 
wrote  to  Lord  North  (Aug.  12,  1778) :  "  The  present  accounts  from  America 
seem  to  put  a  final  stop  to  all  negotiations.  Farther  concession  is  a  joke." 
Stevens'  invaluable  Facsimiles  shed  much  light  on  these  events. — Editor. 


262  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


I  believe,  apply  in  all  cases,  and  suits  as  well  the  meridian 
of  England  as  America. 

As  I  presume  your  last  proclamation  will  undergo  the 
strictures  of  other  pens,  I  shall  confine  my  remarks  to  only 
a  few  parts  thereof.  All  that  you  have  said  might  have 
been  comprised  in  half  the  compass.  It  is  tedious  and 
unmeaning,  and  only  a  repetition  of  your  former  follies, 
with  here  and  there  an  offensive  aggravation.  Your  cargo 
of  pardons  will  have  no  market.  It  is  unfashionable  to 
look  at  them — even  speculation  is  at  an  end.  They  have 
become  a  perfect  drug,  and  no  way  calculated  for  the 
climate. 

In  the  course  of  your  proclamation  you  say,  "The  policy 
as  well  as  the  benevolence  of  Great  Britain  have  thus  far 
checked  the  extremes  of  war,  when  they  tended  to  distress 
a  people  still  considered  as  their  fellow  subjects,  and  to 
desolate  a  country  shortly  to  become  again  a  source  of 
mutual  advantage."  What  you  mean  by  "  the  benevolence 
of  Great  Britain  "  is  to  me  inconceivable.  To  put  a  plain 
question  ;  do  you  consider  yourselves  men  or  devils?  For 
until  this  point  is  settled,  no  determinate  sense  can  be  put 
upon  the  expression.  You  have  already  equalled  and  in 
many  cases  excelled,  the  savages  of  either  Indies ;  and  if 
you  have  yet  a  cruelty  in  store  you  must  have  imported  it, 
unmixed  with  every  human  material,  from  the  original  ware- 
house of  hell. 

To  the  interposition  of  Providence,  and  her  blessings  on 
our  endeavours,  and  not  to  British  benevolence  are  we  in- 
debted for  the  short  chain  that  limits  your  ravages.  Re- 
member you  do  not,  at  this  time,  command  a  foot  of  land  on 
the  continent  of  America.  Staten-Island,  York-Island,  a 
small  part  of  Long-Island,  and  Rhode-Island,  circumscribe 
your  power  ;  and  even  those  you  hold  at  the  expense  of  the 
West-Indies.  To  avoid  a  defeat,  or  prevent  a  desertion  of 
your  troops,  you  have  taken  up  your  quarters  in  holes  and 
corners  of  inaccessible  security ;  and  in  order  to  conceal 
what  every  one  can  perceive,  you  now  endeavour  to  impose 
your  weakness  upon  us  for  an  act  of  mercy.     If  you  think 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


263 


to  succeed  by  such  shadowy  devices,  you  are  but  infants  in 
the  political  world  ;  you  have  the  A,  B,  C,  of  stratagem  yet 
to  learn,  and  are  wholly  ignorant  of  the  people  you  have 
to  contend  with.  Like  men  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  you 
forget  that  the  rest  of  the  world  have  eyes,  and  that  the 
same  stupidity  which  conceals  you  from  yourselves  exposes 
you  to  their  satire  and  contempt. 

The  paragraph  which  I  have  quoted,  stands  as  an  intro- 
duction to  the  following:  "But  when  that  country 
[America]  professes  the  unnatural  design,  not  only  of  es- 
tranging herself  from  us,  but  of  mortgaging  herself  and  her 
resources  to  our  enemies,  the  whole  contest  is  changed  :  and 
the  question  is  how  far  Great  Britain  may,  by  every  means 
in  her  power,  destroy  or  render  useless,  a  connexion 
contrived  for  her  ruin,  and  the  aggrandizement  of 
France.  Under  such  circumstances,  the  laws  of  self-preser- 
vation must  direct  the  conduct  of  Britain,  and,  if  the  British 
colonies  are  to  become  an  accession  to  France,  will  direct 
her  to  render  that  accession  of  as  little  avail  as  possible  to 
her  enemy." 

I  consider  you  in  this  declaration,  like  madmen  biting  in 
the  hour  of  death.  It  contains  likewise  a  fraudulent  mean- 
ness ;  for,  in  order  to  justify  a  barbarous  conclusion,  you 
have  advanced  a  false  position.  The  treaty  we  have  formed 
with  France  is  open,  noble,  and  generous.  It  is  true  policy, 
founded  on  sound  philosophy,  and  neither  a  surrender  or 
mortgage,  as  you  would  scandalously  insinuate.  I  have 
seen  every  article,  and  speak  from  positive  knowledge.  In 
France,  we  have  found  an  affectionate  friend  and  faithful 
ally  ;  in  Britain,  we  have  found  nothing  but  tyranny,  cruelty, 
and  infidelity. 

But  the  happiness  is,  that  the  mischief  you  threaten,  is  not 
in  your  power  to  execute  ;  and  if  it  were,  the  punishment 
would  return  upon  you  in  a  ten-fold  degree.  The  humanity 
of  America  hath  hitherto  restrained  her  from  acts  of  retalia- 
tion, and  the  affection  she  retains  for  many  individuals  in 
England,  who  have  fed,  clothed  and  comforted  her  prisoners, 
has,  to  the  present  day,  warded  ofY  her  resentment,  and  opera- 


264 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


ted  as  a  screen  to  the  whole.  But  even  these  considerations 
must  cease,  when  national  objects  interfere  and  oppose  them. 
Repeated  aggravations  will  provoke  a  retort,  and  policy 
justify  the  measure.  We  mean  now  to  take  you  seriously 
up  upon  your  own  ground  and  principle,  and  as  you  do,  so 
shall  you  be  done  by. 

You  ought  to  know,  gentlemen,  that  England  and  Scot- 
land, are  far  more  exposed  to  incendiary  desolation  than 
America,  in  her  present  state,  can  possibly  be.  We  occupy 
a  country,  with  but  few  towns,  and  whose  riches  consist  in 
land  and  annual  produce.  The  two  last  can  suffer  but  little, 
and  that  only  within  a  very  limited  compass.  In  Britain  it 
is  otherwise.  Her  wealth  lies  chiefly  in  cities  and  large 
towns,  the  depositories  of  manufactures  and  fleets  of 
merchantmen.  There  is  not  a  nobleman's  country  seat  but 
may  be  laid  in  ashes  by  a  single  person.  Your  own  may 
probably  contribute  to  the  proof  :  in  short,  there  is  no  evil 
which  cannot  be  returned  when  you  come  to  incendiary 
mischief.  The  ships  in  the  Thames,  may  certainly  be  as 
easily  set  on  fire,  as  the  temporary  bridge  was  a  few  years 
ago  ;  yet  of  that  affair  no  discovery  was  ever  made  ;  and  the 
loss  you  would  sustain  by  such  an  event,  executed  at  a  proper 
season,  is  infinitely  greater  than  any  you  can  inflict.  The 
East-India  house  and  the  bank,  neither  are  nor  can  be  secure 
from  this  sort  of  destruction,  and,  as  Dr.  Price  justly  ob- 
serves, a  fire  at  the  latter  would  bankrupt  the  nation.'  It 
has  never  been  the  custom  of  France  and  England  when  at 
war,  to  make  those  havocs  on  each  other,  because  the  ease 
with  which  they  could  retaliate  rendered  it  as  impolitic 
as  if  each  had  destroyed  his  own. 

But  think  not,  gentlemen,  that  our  distance  secures  you, 
or  our  invention  fails  us.  We  can  much  easier  accomplish 
such  a  point  than  any  nation  in  Europe.  We  talk  the  same 
language,  dress  in  the  same  habit,  and  appear  with  the  same 

'  The  Rev.  Dr.  Price  of  London,  the  eminent  defender  of  America,  whose 
discourses  excited  the  gratitude  of  Congress.  His  sermon  in  1789  "On  the 
Love  of  our  Country,"  bearing  on  events  in  France,  was  denounced  by  Burke. 
— Editor. 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


265 


manners  as  yourselves.  We  can  pass  from  one  part  of 
England  to  another  unsuspected  ;  many  of  us  are  as  well 
acquainted  with  the  country  as  you  are,  and  should  you  im- 
politically  provoke  us,  you  will  most  assuredly  lament  the 
effects  of  it.  Mischiefs  of  this  kind  require  no  army  to 
execute  them.  The  means  are  obvious,  and  the  oppor- 
tunities unguardable.  I  hold  up  a  warning  to  your  senses, 
if  you  have  any  left,  and  "  to  the  unhappy  people  likewise, 
whose  affairs  are  committed  to  you."  *  I  call  not  with  the 
rancor  of  an  enemy,  but  the  earnestness  of  a  friend,  on  the 
deluded  people  of  England,  lest,  between  your  blunders 
and  theirs,  they  sink  beneath  the  evils  contrived  for  us. 

"  He  who  lives  in  a  glass  house,"  says  a  Spanish  proverb, 
"  should  never  begin  throwing  stones."  This,  gentlemen,  is 
exactly  your  case,  and  you  must  be  the  most  ignorant  of 
mankind,  or  suppose  us  so,  not  to  see  on  which  side  the 
balance  of  accounts  will  fall.  There  are  many  other  modes 
of  retaliation,  which,  for  several  reasons,  I  choose  not  to 
mention.  But  be  assured  of  this,  that  the  instant  you  put 
your  threat  into  execution,  a  counter-blow  will  follow  it.  If 
you  openly  profess  yourselves  savages,  it  is  high  time 
we  should  treat  you  as  such,  and  if  nothing  but  distress  can 
recover  you  to  reason,  to  punish  will  become  an  office  of 
charity. 

While  your  fleet  lay  last  winter  in  the  Delaware,  I  offered 
my  service  to  the  Pennsylvania  navy-board  then  at  Trenton, 
as  one  who  would  make  a  party  with  them,  or  any  four  or 
five  gentlemen,  on  an  expedition  down  the  river  to  set  fire 
to  it,  and  though  it  was  not  then  accepted,  nor  the  thing 
personally  attempted,  it  is  more  than  probable  that  your 
own  folly  will  provoke  a  much  more  ruinous  act.  Say  not 
when  mischief  is  done,  that  you  had  not  warning,  and 
remember  that  we  do  not  begin  it,  but  mean  to  repay  it. 
Thus  much  for  your  savage  and  impolitic  threat. 

In  another  part  of  your  proclamation  you  say,  "  But  if 
the  honours  of  a  military  life  are  become  the  object  of  the 
Americans,  let  them  seek  those  honors  under  the  banners  of 

*  General  [Sir  H.]  Clinton's  letter  to  Congress. — Author. 


266  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


their  rightful  sovereign,  and  in  lighting  the  battles  of  the 
united  British  empire,  against  our  late  mutual  and  natural 
enemies."  Surely!  the  union  of  absurdity  with  madness 
was  never  marked  in  more  distinguishable  lines  than  these. 
Your  rightful  sovereign,  as  you  call  him,  may  do  well  enough 
for  you,  who  dare  not  inquire  into  the  humble  capacities  of 
the  man ;  but  we,  who  estimate  persons  and  things  by  their 
real  worth,  cannot  suffer  our  judgments  to  be  so  imposed 
upon  ;  and  unless  it  is  your  wish  to  see  him  exposed,  it 
ought  to  be  your  endeavour  to  keep  him  out  of  sight.  The 
less  you  have  to  say  about  him  the  better.  We  have  done 
with  him,  and  that  ought  to  be  answer  enough.  You  have 
been  often  told  so.  Strange  !  that  the  answer  must  be  so 
often  repeated.  You  go  a-begging  with  your  king  as  with 
a  brat,  or  with  some  unsaleable  commodity  you  were  tired 
of  ;  and  though  every  body  tells  you  no,  no,  still  you  keep 
hawking  him  about.  But  there  is  one  that  will  have  him  in 
a  little  time,  and  as  we  have  no  inclination  to  disappoint 
you  of  a  customer,  we  bid  nothing  for  him. 

The  impertinent  folly  of  the  paragraph  that  I  have  just 
quoted,  deserves  no  other  notice  than  to  be  laughed  at  and 
thrown  by,  but  the  principle  on  which  it  is  founded  is 
detestable.  We  are  invited  to  submit  to  a  man  who  has 
attempted  by  every  cruelty  to  destroy  us,  and  to  join  him  in 
making  war  against  France,  who  is  already  at  war  against 
him  for  our  support. 

Can  Bedlam,  in  concert  with  Lucifer,  form  a  more  mad 
and  devilish  request  ?  Were  it  possible  a  people  could  sink 
into  such  apostacy  they  would  deserve  to  be  swept  from  the 
earth  like  the  inhabitants  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  The 
proposition  is  an  universal  affront  to  the  rank  which  man 
holds  in  the  creation,  and  an  indignity  to  him  who  placed 
him  there.  It  supposes  him  made  up  without  a  spark  of 
honour,  and  under  no  obligation  to  God  or  man. 

What  sort  of  men  or  Christians  must  you  suppose  the 
Americans  to  be,  who,  after  seeing  their  most  humble  peti- 
tions insultingly  rejected  ;  the  most  grievous  laws  passed  to 
distress  them  in  every  quarter ;  an  undeclared  war  let  loose 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


267 


upon  them,  and  Indians  and  negroes  invited  to  the  slaughter ; 
who,  after  seeing  their  kinsmen  murdered,  their  fellow  citi- 
zens starved  to  death  in  prisons,  and  their  houses  and  prop- 
erty destroyed  and  burned  ;  who,  after  the  most  serious 
appeals  to  heaven,  the  most  solemn  abjuration  by  oath  of 
all  government  connected  with  you,  and  the  most  heart-felt 
pledges  and  protestations  of  faith  to  each  other ;  and  who, 
after  soliciting  the  friendship,  and  entering  into  alliances 
with  other  nations,  should  at  last  break  through  all  these 
obligations,  civil  and  divine,  by  complying  with  your  horrid 
and  infernal  proposal.  Ought  we  ever  after  to  be  considered 
as  a  part  of  the  human  race  ?  Or  ought  we  not  rather  to  be 
blotted  from  the  society  of  mankind,  and  become  a  spec- 
tacle of  misery  to  the  world  ?  But  there  is  something  in 
corruption,  which,  like  a  jaundiced  eye,  transfers  the  colour 
of  itself  to  the  object  it  looks  upon,  and  sees  every  thing 
stained  and  impure ;  for  unless  you  were  capable  of  such 
conduct  yourselves,  you  would  never  have  supposed  such  a 
character  in  us.  The  offer  fixes  your  infamy.  It  exhibits 
you  as  a  nation  without  faith ;  with  whom  oaths  and 
treaties  are  considered  as  trifles,  and  the  breaking  them  as 
the  breaking  of  a  bubble.  Regard  to  decency,  or  to  rank, 
might  have  taught  you  better  ;  or  pride  inspired  you,  though 
virtue  could  not.  There  is  not  left  a  step  in  the  degrada- 
tion of  character  to  which  you  can  now  descend  ;  you  have 
put  your  foot  on  the  ground  floor,  and  the  key  of  the  dun- 
geon is  turned  upon  you. 

That  the  invitation  may  want  nothing  of  being  a  complete 
monster,  you  have  thought  proper  to  finish  it  with  an  asser- 
tion which  has  no  foundation,  either  in  fact  or  philosophy ; 
and  as  Mr.  Ferguson,  your  secretary,  is  a  man  of  letters,  and 
has  made  civil  society  his  study,  and  published  a  treatise  on 
that  subject,  I  address  this  part  to  him.' 

In  the  close  of  the  paragraph  which  I  last  quoted,  France 
is  styled  the  "  natural  enemy  "  of  England,  and  by  way  of 

'  Adam  Ferguson  (b.  1724,  d.  1816),  Professor  of  Moral  Philosophy  in  the 
University  of  Edinburgh,  author  of  an  "  Essay  on  the  History  of  Civil  Society  " 
(1767),  and  "  Institutes  of  Moral  Philosophy"  (1769). — Editor. 


268  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


lugging  US  into  some  strange  idea,  she  is  styled  "  the  late 
mutual  and  natural  enemy  "  of  both  countries.  I  deny  that 
she  ever  was  the  natural  enemy  of  either ;  and  that  there 
does  not  exist  in  nature  such  a  principle.  The  expression 
is  an  unmeaning  barbarism,  and  wholly  unphilosophical, 
when  applied  to  beings  of  the  same  species,  let  their  station 
in  the  creation  be  what  it  may.  We  have  a  perfect  idea  of 
a  natural  enemy  when  we  think  of  the  devil,  because  the 
enmity  is  perpetual,  unalterable  and  unabateable.  It  admits, 
neither  of  peace,  truce,  or  treaty  ;  consequently  the  warfare 
is  eternal,  and  therefore  it  is  natural.  But  man  with  man 
cannot  arrange  in  the  same  opposition.  Their  quarrels  are 
accidental  and  equivocally  created.  They  become  friends 
or  enemies  as  the  change  of  temper,  or  the  cast  of  interest 
inclines  them.  The  Creator  of  man  did  not  constitute  them 
the  natural  enemy  of  each  other.  He  has  not  made  any 
one  order  of  beings  so.  Even  wolves  may  quarrel,  still  they 
herd  together.  If  any  two  nations  are  so,  then  must  all 
nations  be  so,  otherwise  it  is  not  nature  but  custom,  and 
the  offence  frequently  originates  with  the  accuser.  England 
is  as  truly  the  natural  enemy  of  France,  as  France  is  of 
England,  and  perhaps  more  so.  Separated  from  the  rest  of 
Europe,  she  has  contracted  an  unsocial  habit  of  manners, 
and  imagines  in  others  the  jealousy  she  creates  in  herself. 
Never  long  satisfied  with  peace,  she  supposes  the  discontent 
universal,  and  buoyed  up  with  her  own  importance,  con- 
ceives herself  the  only  object  pointed  at.  The  expression 
has  been  often  used,  and  always  with  a  fraudulent  design ; 
for  when  the  idea  of  a  natural  enemy  is  conceived,  it  pre- 
vents all  other  inquiries,  and  the  real  cause  of  the  quarrel  is 
hidden  in  the  universality  of  the  conceit.  Men  start  at  the 
notion  of  a  natural  enemy,  and  ask  no  other  question.  The 
cry  obtains  credit  like  the  alarm  of  a  mad  dog,  and  is  one 
of  those  kind  of  tricks,  which,  by  operating  on  the  common 
passions,  secures  their  interest  through  their  folly. 

But  we,  sir,  are  not  to  be  thus  imposed  upon.  We  live 
in  a  large  world,  and  have  extended  our  ideas  beyond  the 
limits  and  prejudices  of  an  island.    We  hold  out  the  right 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


269 


hand  of  friendship  to  all  the  universe,  and  we  conceive  that 
there  is  a  sociality  in  the  manners  of  France,  which  is  much 
better  disposed  to  peace  and  negotiation  than  that  of 
England,  and  until  the  latter  becomes  more  civilized,  she 
cannot  expect  to  live  long  at  peace  with  any  power.  Her 
common  language  is  vulgar  and  offensive,  and  children  suck 
in  with  their  milk  the  rudiments  of  insult — "The  arm  of 
Britain  !  The  mighty  arm  of  Britain  !  Britain  that  shakes 
the  earth  to  its  centre  and  its  poles  !  The  scourge  of  France  ! 
The  terror  of  the  world  !  That  governs  with  a  nod,  and 
pours  down  vengeance  like  a  God."  This  language 
neither  makes  a  nation  great  or  little  ;  but  it  shows  a  sav- 
ageness  of  manners,  and  has  a  tendency  to  keep  national 
animosity  alive.  The  entertainments  of  the  stage  are  calcu- 
lated to  the  same  end,  and  almost  every  public  exhibition  is 
tinctured  with  insult.  Yet  England  is  always  in  dread  of 
France, — terrified  at  the  apprehension  of  an  invasion,  sus- 
picious of  being  outwitted  in  a  treaty,  and  privately  cringing 
though  she  is  publicly  offending.  Let  her,  therefore,  reform 
her  manners  and  do  justice,  and  she  will  find  the  idea  of  a 
natural  enemy  to  be  only  a  phantom  of  her  own  imagination. 

Little  did  I  think,  at  this  period  of  the  war,  to  see  a  proc- 
lamation which  could  promise  you  no  one  useful  purpose 
whatever,  and  tend  only  to  expose  you.  One  would  think 
that  you  were  just  awakened  from  a  four  years'  dream,  and 
knew  nothing  of  what  had  passed  in  the  interval.  Is  this  a 
time  to  be  offering  pardons,  or  renewing  the  long  forgotten 
subjects  of  charters  and  taxation  ?  Is  it  worth  your  while, 
after  every  force  has  failed  you,  to  retreat  under  the  shelter 
of  argument  and  persuasion  ?  Or  can  you  think  that  we,  with 
nearly  half  your  army  prisoners,  and  in  alliance  with  France, 
are  to  be  begged  or  threatened  into  submission  by  a  piece  of 
paper?  But  as  commissioners  at  a  hundred  pounds  sterling 
a  week  each,  you  conceive  yourselves  bound  to  do  some- 
thing, and  the  genius  of  ill-fortune  told  you,  that  you  must 
write. 

For  my  own  part,  I  have  not  put  pen  to  paper  these 
several  months.    Convinced  of  our  superiority  by  the  issue 


270  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


of  every  campaign,  I  was  inclined  to  hope,  that  that  which 
all  the  rest  of  the  world  now  see,  would  become  visible  to  you, 
and  therefore  felt  unwilling  to  ruffle  your  temper  by  fretting 
you  with  repetitions  and  discoveries.  There  have  been  inter- 
vals of  hesitation  in  your  conduct,  from  which  it  seemed  a 
pity  to  disturb  you,  and  a  charity  to  leave  you  to  yourselves. 
You  have  often  stopped,  as  if  you  intended  to  think,  but 
your  thoughts  have  ever  been  too  early  or  too  late. 

There  was  a  time  when  Britain  disdained  to  answer,  or 
even  hear  a  petition  from  America.  That  time  is  past  and 
she  in  her  turn  is  petitioning  our  acceptance.  We  now  stand 
on  higher  ground,  and  offer  her  peace  ;  and  the  time  will 
come  when  she,  perhaps  in  vain,  will  ask  it  from  us.  The 
latter  case  is  as  probable  as  the  former  ever  was.  She  can- 
not refuse  to  acknowledge  our  independence  with  greater 
obstinacy  than  she  before  refused  to  repeal  her  laws  ;  and  if 
America  alone  could  bring  her  to  the  one,  united  with  France 
she  will  reduce  her  to  the  other.  There  is  something  in 
obstinacy  which  differs  from  every  other  passion  ;  whenever 
it  fails  it  never  recovers,  but  either  breaks  like  iron,  or 
crumbles  sulkily  away  like  a  fractured  arch.  Most  other 
passions  have  their  periods  of  fatigue  and  rest ;  their  suf- 
fering and  their  cure ;  but  obstinacy  has  no  resource,  and 
the  first  wound  is  mortal.  You  have  already  begun  to  give 
it  up,  and  you  will,  from  the  natural  construction  of  the  vice, 
find  yourselves  both  obliged  and  inclined  to  do  so. 

If  you  look  back  you  see  nothing  but  loss  and  disgrace. 
If  you  look  forward  the  same  scene  continues,  and  the  close 
is  an  impenetrable  gloom.  You  may  plan  and  execute  little 
mischiefs,  but  are  they  worth  the  expense  they  cost  you,  or 
will  such  partial  evils  have  any  effect  on  the  general  cause  ? 
Your  expedition  to  Egg-Harbour,  will  be  felt  at  a  distance 
like  an  attack  upon  a  hen-roost,  and  expose  you  in  Europe, 
with  a  sort  of  childish  phrenzy.  Is  it  worth  while  to  keep 
an  army  to  protect  you  in  writing  proclamations,  or  to  get 
once  a  year  into  winter-quarters  ?  Possessing  yourselves  of 
towns  is  not  conquest,  but  convenience,  and  in  which  you 
will  one  day  or  other  be  trepanned.    Your  retreat  from 


1778]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  27 1 


Philadelphia,  was  only  a  timely  escape,  and  your  next  ex- 
pedition may  be  less  fortunate. 

It  would  puzzle  all  the  politicians  in  the  universe  to  con- 
ceive what  you  stay  for,  or  why  you  should  have  staid  so 
long.  You  are  prosecuting  a  war  in  which  you  confess  you 
have  neither  object  nor  hope,  and  that  conquest,  could  it  be 
effected,  would  not  repay  the  charges  :  in  the  mean  while 
the  rest  of  your  afTairs  are  running  to  ruin,  and  a  European 
war  kindling  against  you.  In  such  a  situation,  there  is 
neither  doubt  nor  difificulty  ;  the  first  rudiments  of  reason 
will  determine  the  choice,  for  if  peace  can  be  procured  with 
more  advantages  than  even  a  conquest  can  be  obtained,  he 
must  be  an  idiot  indeed  that  hesitates. 

But  you  are  probably  buoyed  up  by  a  set  of  wretched 
mortals,  who,  having  deceived  themselves,  are  cringing,  with 
the  duplicity  of  a  spaniel,  for  a  little  temporary  bread.  Those 
men  will  tell  you  just  what  you  please.  It  is  their  interest 
to  amuse,  in  order  to  lengthen  out  their  protection.  They 
study  to  keep  you  amongst  them  for  that  very  purpose  ;  and 
in  proportion  as  you  disregard  their  advice,  and  grow  callous 
to  their  complaints,  they  will  stretch  into  improbability,  and 
season  their  flattery  the  higher.  Characters  like  these  are 
to  be  found  in  every  country,  and  every  country  will  despise 
them. 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  Oct.  20,  1778. 


THE  CRISIS. 

VII. 

TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  ENGLAND. 

There  are  stages  in  the  business  of  serious  life  in  which 
to  amuse  is  cruel,  but  to  deceive  is  to  destroy ;  and  it  is  of 
little  consequence,  in  the  conclusion,  whether  men  deceive 
themselves,  or  submit,  by  a  kind  of  mutual  consent,  to  the 
impositions  of  each  other.  That  England  has  long  been 
under  the  influence  of  delusion  or  mistake,  needs  no  other 
proof  than  the  unexpected  and  wretched  situation  that  she 


272 


THE   WRITING'S  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


is  now  involved  in  :  and  so  powerful  has  been  the  influence, 
that  no  provision  was  ever  made  or  thought  of  against  the 
misfortune,  because  the  possibility  of  its  happening  was 
never  conceived. 

The  general  and  successful  resistance  of  America,  the  con- 
quest of  Burgoyne,  and  a  war  in  France,  were  treated  in 
parliament  as  the  dreams  of  a  discontented  opposition,  or  a 
distempered  imagination.  They  were  beheld  as  objects 
unworthy  of  a  serious  thought,  and  the  bare  intimation  of 
them  afforded  the  ministry  a  triumph  of  laughter.  Short 
triumph  indeed  !  For  everything  which  has  been  predicted 
has  happened,  and  all  that  was  promised  has  failed.  Along 
series  of  politics  so  remarkably  distinguished  by  a  succession 
of  misfortunes,  without  one  alleviating  turn,  must  certainly 
have  something  in  it  systematically  wrong.  It  is  sufificient 
to  awaken  the  most  credulous  into  suspicion,  and  the  most 
obstinate  into  thought.  Either  the  means  in  your  power 
are  insufiflcient,  or  the  measures  ill  planned  ;  either  the 
execution  has  been  bad,  or  the  thing  attempted  imprac- 
ticable ;  or,  to  speak  more  emphatically,  either  you  are  not 
able  or  heaven  is  not  willing.  For,  why  is  it  that  you  have 
not  conquered  us?  Who,  or  what  has  prevented  you  ?  You 
have  had  every  opportunity  that  you  could  desire,  and 
succeeded  to  your  utmost  wish  in  every  preparatory  means. 
Your  fleets  and  armies  have  arrived  in  America  without  an 
accident.  No  uncommon  fortune  hath  intervened.  No 
foreign  nation  hath  interfered  until  the  time  which  you  had 
allotted  for  victory  was  passed.  The  opposition,  either  in  or 
out  of  parliament,  neither  disconcerted  your  measures,  re- 
tarded or  diminished  your  force.  They  only  foretold  your 
fate.  Every  ministerial  scheme  was  carried  with  as  high  a 
hand  as  if  the  whole  nation  had  been  unanimous.  Every 
thing  wanted  was  asked  for,  and  every  thing  asked  for  was 
granted. 

A  greater  force  was  not  within  the  compass  of  your  abili- 
ties to  send,  and  the  time  you  sent  it  was  of  all  others  the 
most  favorable.  You  were  then  at  rest  with  the  whole  world 
beside.    You  had  the  range  of  every  court  in  Europe  un- 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


273 


contradicted  by  us.  You  amused  us  with  a  tale  of  com- 
missioners of  peace,  and  under  that  disguise  collected  a 
numerous  army  and  came  almost  unexpectedly  upon  us. 
The  force  was  much  greater  than  we  looked  for ;  and  that 
which  we  had  to  oppose  it  with,  was  unequal  in  numbers, 
badly  armed,  and  poorly  disciplined  ;  beside  which,  it  was 
embodied  only  for  a  short  time,  and  expired  within  a  few 
months  after  your  arrival.  We  had  governments  to  form ; 
measures  to  concert ;  an  army  to  train,  and  every  necessary 
article  to  import  or  to  create.  Our  non-importation  scheme 
had  exhausted  our  stores,  and  your  command  by  sea  inter- 
cepted our  supplies.  We  were  a  people  unknown,  and  un- 
connected with  the  political  world,  and  strangers  to  the 
disposition  of  foreign  powers.  Could  you  possibly  wish  for  a 
more  favourable  conjunction  of  circumstances  ?  Yet  all  these 
have  happened  and  passed  away,  and,  as  it  were,  left  you 
with  a  laugh.  There  are  likewise  events  of  such  an  original 
nativity  as  can  never  happen  again,  unless  a  new  world 
should  arise  from  the  ocean. 

If  any  thing  can  be  a  lesson  to  presumption,  surely  the 
circumstances  of  this  war  will  have  their  effect.  Had 
Britain  been  defeated  by  any  European  power,  her  pride 
would  have  drawn  consolation  from  the  importance  of  her 
conquerors ;  but  in  the  present  case,  she  is  excelled  by  those 
that  she  affected  to  despise,  and  her  own  opinions  retorting 
upon  herself,  become  an  aggravation  of  her  disgrace.  Mis- 
fortune and  experience  are  lost  upon  mankind,  when  they 
produce  neither  reflection  nor  reformation.  Evils,  like 
poisons,  have  their  uses,  and  there  are  diseases  which  no 
other  remedy  can  reach.  It  has  been  the  crime  and  folly  of 
England  to  suppose  herself  invincible,  and  that,  without 
acknowledging  or  perceiving  that  a  full  third  of  her  strength 
was  drawn  from  the  country  she  is  now  at  war  with.  The 
arm  of  Britain  has  been  spoken  of  as  the  arm  of  the  Al- 
mighty, and  she  has  lived  of  late  as  if  she  thought  the  whole 
world  created  for  her  diversion.  Her  politics,  instead  of 
civilizing,  has  tended  to  brutalize  mankind,  and  under  the 
vain,  unmeaning  title  of  "  Defender  of  the  Faith,"  she  has 

VOL.  I.  — 18 


274  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


made  war  like  an  Indian  against  the  religion  of  humanity.' 
Her  cruelties  in  the  East  Indies  will  never  be  forgotten,  and 
it  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  the  produce  of  that  ruined 
country,  transported  to  America,  should  there  kindle  up 
a  war  to  punish  the  destroyer.  The  chain  is  continued, 
though  with  a  mysterious  kind  of  uniformity  both  in  the 
crime  and  the  punishment.  The  latter  runs  parallel  with 
the  former,  and  time  and  fate  will  give  it  a  perfect  illustration. 

When  information  is  withheld,  ignorance  becomes  a 
reasonable  excuse  ;  and  one  would  charitably  hope  that  the 
people  of  England  do  not  encourage  cruelty  from  choice 
but  from  mistake.  Their  recluse  situation,  surrounded  by 
the  sea,  preserves  them  from  the  calamities  of  war,  and 
keeps  them  in  the  dark  as  to  the  conduct  of  their  own 
armies.  They  see  not,  therefore  they  feel  not.  They  tell 
the  tale  that  is  told  them  and  believe  it,  and  accustomed  to 
no  other  news  than  their  own,  they  receive  it,  stripped  of  its 
horrors  and  prepared  for  the  palate  of  the  nation,  through 
the  channel  of  the  London  Gazette.  They  are  made  to 
believe  that  their  generals  and  armies  differ  from  those  of 
other  nations,  and  have  nothing  of  rudeness  or  barbarity  in 
them.  They  suppose  them  what  they  wish  them  to  be. 
They  feel  a  disgrace  in  thinking  otherwise,  and  naturally 
encourage  the  belief  from  a  partiality  to  themselves.  There 
was  a  time  when  I  felt  the  same  prejudices,  and  reasoned 
from  the  same  errors ;  but  experience,  sad  and  painful  ex- 
perience, has  taught  me  better.  What  the  conduct  of 
former  armies  was,  I  know  not,  but  what  the  conduct  of  the 
present  is,  I  well  know.  It  is  low,  cruel,  indolent  and  profli- 
gate ;  and  had  the  people  of  America  no  other  cause  for 
separation  than  what  the  army  has  occasioned,  that  alone  is 
cause  sufficient. 

The  field  of  politics  in  England  is  far  more  extensive  than 
that  of  news.  Men  have  a  right  to  reason  for  themselves, 
and  though  they  cannot  contradict  the  intelligence  in  the 

'  This  is  probably  the  earliest  use  of  the  phrase,  "  the  religion  of  humanity." 
By  "  Indian,"  is  meant  the  aboriginal  American,  employed  by  the  British 
officials. — Editor. 


I77i5]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  275 


London  Gazette,  they  may  frame  upon  it  what  sentiments 
they  please.  But  the  misfortune  is,  that  a  general  ignorance 
has  prevailed  over  the  whole  nation  respecting  America. 
The  ministry  and  the  minority  have  both  been  wrong.  The 
former  was  always  so,  the  latter  only  lately  so.  Politics,  to 
be  executively  right,  must  have  a  unity  of  means  and  time, 
and  a  defect  in  either  overthrows  the  whole.  The  ministry 
rejected  the  plans  of  the  minority  while  they  were  practi- 
cable, and  joined  in  them  when  they  became  impracticable. 
From  wrong  measures  they  got  into  wrong  time,  and  have 
now  completed  the  circle  of  absurdity  by  closing  it  upon 
themselves. 

I  happened  to  come  to  America  a  few  months  before  the 
breaking  out  of  hostilities.  I  found  the  disposition  of  the 
people  such,  that  they  might  have  been  led  by  a  thread 
and  governed  by  a  reed.  Their  suspicion  was  quick  and 
penetrating,  but  their  attachment  to  Britain  was  obstinate, 
and  it  was  at  that  time  a  kind  of  treason  to  speak  against  it, 
They  disliked  the  ministry,  but  they  esteemed  the  nation. 
Their  idea  of  grievance  operated  without  resentment,  and 
their  single  object  was  reconciliation.  Bad  as  I  believed  the 
ministry  to  be,  I  never  conceived  them  capable  of  a  meas- 
ure so  rash  and  wicked  as  the  commencing  of  hostilities ; 
much  less  did  I  imagine  the  nation  would  encourage  it.  I 
viewed  the  dispute  as  a  kind  of  law-suit,  in  which  I  supposed 
the  parties  would  find  a  way  either  to  decide  or  settle  it.  I 
had  no  thoughts  of  independence  or  of  arms.  The  world 
could  not  then  have  persuaded  me  that  I  should  be  either 
a  soldier  or  an  author.  If  I  had  any  talents  for  either,  they 
were  buried  in  me,  and  might  ever  have  continued  so,  had 
not  the  necessity  of  the  times  dragged  and  driven  them  into 
action.  I  had  formed  my  plan  of  life,  and  conceiving  my- 
self happy,  wished  every  body  else  so.  But  when  the 
country,  into  which  I  had  just  set  my  foot,  was  set  on  fire 
about  my  ears,  it  was  time  to  stir.'    It  was  time  for  every 

*  "  For  my  own  part,  I  thought  it  very  hard  to  have  the  country  set  on  fire 
about  my  ears  almost  the  moment  I  got  into  it."  (Paine's  private  letter  to 
Franklin.)    Paine  arrived  in  America  November  30,  1774. — Editor. 


276  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


man  to  stir.  Those  who  had  been  long  settled  had  some- 
thing to  defend  ;  those  who  had  just  come  had  something 
to  pursue ;  and  the  call  and  the  concern  was  equal  and  uni- 
versal. For  in  a  country  where  all  men  were  once  adven- 
turers, the  difference  of  a  few  years  in  their  arrival  could 
make  none  in  their  right. 

The  breaking  out  of  hostilities  opened  a  new  suspicion  in 
the  politics  of  America,  which,  though  at  that  time  very 
rare,  has  since  been  proved  to  be  very  right.  What  I  allude 
to  is,  "  a  secret  and  fixed  determination  in  the  British  cabinet 
to  annex  America  to  the  crown  of  England  as  a  conquered 
country."  If  this  be  taken  as  the  object,  then  the  whole 
line  of  conduct  pursued  by  the  ministry,  though  rash  in  its 
origin  and  ruinous  in  its  consequences,  is  nevertheless  uni- 
form and  consistent  in  its  parts.  It  applies  to  every  case 
and  resolves  every  difificulty.  But  if  taxation,  or  any  thing 
else,  be  taken  in  its  room,  there  is  no  proportion  between 
the  object  and  the  charge.  Nothing  but  the  whole  soil  and 
property  of  the  country  can  be  placed  as  a  possible  equiva- 
lent against  the  millions  which  the  ministry  expended.  No 
taxes  raised  in  America  could  possibly  repay  it.  A  revenue 
of  two  millions  sterling  a  year  would  not  discharge  the  sum 
and  interest  accumulated  thereon,  in  twenty  years. 

Reconciliation  never  appears  to  have  been  the  wish  or  the 
object  of  the  administration  ;  they  looked  on  conquest  as 
certain  and  infallible,  and,  under  that  persuasion,  sought  to 
drive  the  Americans  into  what  they  might  style  a  general 
rebellion,  and  then,  crushing  them  with  arms  in  their  hands, 
reap  the  rich  harvest  of  a  general  confiscation,  and  silence 
them  for  ever.  The  dependants  at  court  were  too  numerous 
to  be  provided  for  in  England.  The  market  for  plunder  in 
the  East-Indies  was  over  ;  and  the  profligacy  of  government 
required  that  a  new  mine  should  be  opened,  and  that  mine 
could  be  no  other  than  America,  conquered  and  forfeited. 
They  had  no  where  else  to  go.  Every  other  channel  was 
drained  ;  and  extravagance,  with  the  thirst  of  a  drunkard, 
was  gaping  for  supplies. 

If  the  ministry  deny  this  to  have  been  their  plan,  it  be- 


I77^<]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  277 


comes  them  to  explain  what  was  their  plan.  For  either  they 
have  abused  us  in  coveting  property  they  never  labored  for, 
or  they  have  abused  you  in  expending  an  amazing  sum  upon 
an  incompetent  object.  Taxation,  as  I  mentioned  before, 
could  never  be  worth  the  charge  of  obtaining  it  by  arms ; 
and  any  kind  of  formal  obedience  which  America  could  have 
made,  would  have  weighed  with  the  lightness  of  a  laugh 
against  such  a  load  of  expense.  It  is  therefore  most  proba- 
ble that  the  ministry  will  at  last  justify  their  policy  by  their 
dishonesty,  and  openly  declare,  that  their  original  design 
was  conquest :  and,  in  this  case,  it  well  becomes  the  people 
of  England  to  consider  how  far  the  nation  would  have  been 
benefitted  by  the  success. 

In  a  general  view,  there  are  few  conquests  that  repay  the 
charge  of  making  them,  and  mankind  are  pretty  well  con- 
vinced that  it  can  never  be  worth  their  while  to  go  to  war 
for  profit's  sake.  If  they  are  made  war  upon,  their  country 
invaded,  or  their  existence  at  stake,  it  is  their  duty  to  defend 
and  preserve  themselves,  but  in  every  other  light,  and  from 
every  other  cause,  is  war  inglorious  and  detestable.  But  to 
return  to  the  case  in  question — 

When  conquests  are  made  of  foreign  countries,  it  is  sup- 
posed that  the  commerce  and  dominion  of  the  country  which 
made  them  are  extended.  But  this  could  neither  be  the 
object  nor  the  consequence  of  the  present  war.  You  enjoyed 
the  whole  commerce  before.  It  could  receive  no  possible 
addition  by  a  conquest,  but  on  the  contrary,  must  diminish 
as  the  inhabitants  were  reduced  in  numbers  and  wealth. 
You  had  the  same  dominion  over  the  country  which  you 
used  to  have,  and  had  no  complaint  to  make  against  her  for 
breach  of  any  part  of  the  contract  between  you  or  her,  or 
contending  against  any  established  custom,  commercial,  polit- 
ical or  territorial.  The  country  and  commerce  were  both 
your  own  when  you  began  to  conquer,  in  the  same  manner 
and  form  as  they  had  been  your  own  an  hundred  years  be- 
fore. Nations  have  sometimes  been  induced  to  make  con- 
quests for  the  sake  of  reducing  the  power  of  their  enemies, 
or  bringing  it  to  a  balance  with  their  own.    But  this  could 


2/8  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


be  no  part  of  your  plan.  No  foreign  authority  was  claimed 
here,  neither  was  any  such  authority  suspected  by  you,  or 
acknowledged  or  imagined  by  us.  What  then,  in  the  name 
of  heaven,  could  you  go  to  war  for  ?  Or  what  chance  could 
you  possibly  have  in  the  event,  but  either  to  hold  the  same 
country  which  you  held  before,  and  that  in  a  much  worse 
condition,  or  to  lose,  with  an  amazing  expense,  what  you 
might  have  retained  without  a  farthing  of  charges? 

War  never  can  be  the  interest  of  a  trading  nation,  any 
more  than  quarrelling  can  be  profitable  to  a  man  in  business. 
But  to  make  war  with  those  who  trade  with  us,  is  like  setting 
a  bull-dog  upon  a  customer  at  the  shop-door.  The  least 
degree  of  common  sense  shows  the  madness  of  the  latter, 
and  it  will  apply  with  the  same  force  of  conviction  to  the 
former.  Piratical  nations,  having  neither  commerce  or  com- 
modities of  their  own  to  lose,  may  make  war  upon  all  the 
world,  and  lucratively  find  their  account  in  it ;  but  it  is 
quite  otherwise  with  Britain :  for,  besides  the  stoppage  of 
trade  in  time  of  war,  she  exposes  more  of  her  own  property 
to  be  lost,  than  she  has  the  chance  of  taking  from  others. 
Some  ministerial  gentlemen  in  parliament  have  mentioned 
the  greatness  of  her  trade  as  an  apology  for  the  greatness  of 
her  loss.  This  is  miserable  politics  indeed  1  Because  it 
ought  to  have  been  given  as  a  reason  for  her  not  engaging 
in  a  war  at  first.  The  coast  of  America  commands  the  West- 
India  trade  almost  as  effectually  as  the  coast  of  Africa  does 
that  of  the  Straits ;  and  England  can  no  more  carry  on  the 
former  without  the  consent  of  America,  than  she  can  the 
latter  without  a  Mediterranean  pass. 

In  whatever  light  the  war  with  America  is  considered 
upon  commercial  principles,  it  is  evidently  the  interest  of 
the  people  of  England  not  to  support  it  ;  and  why  it  has 
been  supported  so  long,  against  the  clearest  demonstrations 
of  truth  and  national  advantage,  is,  to  me,  and  must  be  to 
all  the  reasonable  world,  a  matter  of  astonishment.  Perhaps 
it  may  be  said  that  I  live  in  America,  and  write  this  from 
interest.  To  this  I  reply,  that  my  principle  is  universal. 
My  attachment  is  to  all  the  world,  and  not  to  any  particular 


1778]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  279 


part,  and  if  what  I  advance  is  right,  no  matter  where  or  who 
it  comes  from.  We  have  given  the  proclamation  of  your 
commissioners  a  currency  in  our  newspapers,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  you  will  give  this  a  place  in  yours.  To  oblige  and  be 
obliged  is  fair. 

Before  I  dismiss  this  part  of  my  address,  I  shall  mention 
one  more  circumstance  in  which  I  think  the  people  of  Eng- 
land have  been  equally  mistaken  :  and  then  proceed  to 
other  matters. 

There  is  such  an  idea  existing  in  the  world,  as  that  of 
national  honour,  and  this,  falsely  understood,  is  oftentimes 
the  cause  of  war.  In  a  Christian  and  philosophical  sense, 
mankind  seem  to  have  stood  still  at  individual  civilization, 
and  to  retain  as  nations  all  the  original  rudeness  of  nature. 
Peace  by  treaty  is  only  a  cessation  of  violence  for  a  reforma- 
tion of  sentiment.  It  is  a  substitute  for  a  principle  that  is 
wanting  and  ever  will  be  wanting  till  the  idea  of  national 
honour  be  rightly  understood.  As  individuals  we  profess 
ourselves  Christians,  but  as  nations  we  are  heathens,  Romans, 
and  what  not.  I  remember  the  late  admiral  Saunders  de- 
claring in  the  house  of  commons,  and  that  in  the  time  of 
peace,  "  That  the  city  of  Madrid  laid  in  ashes  was  not  a 
sufficient  atonement  for  the  Spaniards  taking  off  the  rudder 
of  an  English  sloop  of  war."  I  do  not  ask  whether  this  is 
Christianity  or  morality,  I  ask  whether  it  is  decency? 
whether  it  is  proper  language  for  a  nation  to  use  ?  In 
private  life  we  call  it  by  the  plain  name  of  bullying,  and  the 
elevation  of  rank  cannot  alter  its  character.  It  is,  I  think, 
exceedingly  easy  to  define  what  ought  to  be  understood  by 
national  honour  ;  for  that  which  is  the  best  character  for  an 
individual  is  the  best  character  for  a  nation  ;  and  wherever 
the  latter  exceeds  or  falls  beneath  the  former,  there  is  a 
departure  from  the  line  of  true  greatness. 

I  have  thrown  out  this  observation  with  a  design  of  ap- 
plying it  to  Great  Britain.  Her  ideas  of  national  honour 
seem  devoid  of  that  benevolence  of  heart,  that  universal  ex- 
pansion of  philanthropy,  and  that  triumph  over  the  rage  of 
vulgar  prejudice,  without  which  man  is  inferior  to  himself, 


28o 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


and  a  companion  of  common  animals.  To  know  who  she 
shall  regard  or  dislike,  she  asks  what  country  they  are  of, 
what  religion  they  profess,  and  what  property  they  enjoy. 
Her  idea  of  national  honour  seems  to  consist  in  national 
insult,  and  that  to  be  a  great  people,  is  to  be  neither  a  Chris- 
tian, a  philosopher,  or  a  gentleman,  but  to  threaten  with  the 
rudeness  of  a  bear,  and  to  devour  with  the  ferocity  of  a  lion. 
This  perhaps  may  sound  harsh  and  uncourtly,  but  it  is  too 
true,  and  the  more  is  the  pity. 

I  mention  this  only  as  her  general  character.  But  towards 
America  she  has  observed  no  character  at  all ;  and  destroyed 
by  her  conduct  what  she  assumed  in  her  title.  She  set  out 
with  the  title  of  parent,  or  mother  country.  The  association 
of  ideas  which  naturally  accompany  this  expression,  are 
filled  with  everything  that  is  fond,  tender  and  forbearing. 
They  have  an  energy  peculiar  to  themselves,  and,  overlook- 
ing the  accidental  attachment  of  common  affections,  apply 
with  infinite  softness  to  the  first  feelings  of  the  heart.  It  is 
a  political  term  which  every  mother  can  feel  the  force  of, 
and  every  child  can  judge  of.  It  needs  no  painting  of  mine 
to  set  it  off,  for  nature  only  can  do  it  justice. 

But  has  any  part  of  your  conduct  to  America  corresponded 
with  the  title  you  set  up  ?  If  in  your  general  national  char- 
acter you  are  unpolished  and  severe,  in  this  you  are  incon- 
sistent and  unnatural,  and  you  must  have  exceeding  false 
notions  of  national  honour  to  suppose  that  the  world  can 
admire  a  want  of  humanity  or  that  national  honour  depends 
on  the  violence  of  resentment,  the  inflexibility  of  temper,  or 
the  vengeance  of  execution. 

I  would  willingly  convince  you,  and  that  with  as  much 
temper  as  the  times  will  suffer  me  to  do,  that  as  you  opposed 
your  own  interest  by  quarrelling  with  us,  so  likewise  your 
national  honor,  rightly  conceived  and  understood,  was  no 
ways  called  upon  to  enter  into  a  war  with  America ;  had 
you  studied  true  greatness  of  heart,  the  first  and  fairest 
ornament  of  mankind,  you  would  have  acted  directly  con- 
trary to  all  that  you  have  done,  and  the  world  would  have 
ascribed  it  to  a  generous  cause.    Besides  which,  you  had 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


281 


(though  with  the  assistance  of  this  country)  secured  a  power- 
ful name  by  the  last  war.  You  were  known  and  dreaded 
abroad ;  and  it  would  have  been  wise  in  you  to  have  suf- 
fered the  world  to  have  slept  undisturbed  under  that  idea. 
It  was  to  you  a  force  existing  without  expense.  It  pro- 
duced to  you  all  the  advantages  of  real  power;  and  you 
were  stronger  through  the  universality  of  that  charm,  than 
any  future  fleets  and  armies  may  probably  make  you.  Your 
greatness  was  so  secured  and  interwoven  with  your  silence 
that  you  ought  never  to  have  awakened  mankind,  and  had 
nothing  to  do  but  to  be  quiet.  Had  you  been  true  politicians 
you  would  have  seen  all  this,  and  continued  to  draw  from 
the  magic  of  a  name,  the  force  and  authority  of  a  nation. 

Unwise  as  you  were  in  breaking  the  charm,  you  were  still 
more  unwise  in  the  manner  of  doing  it.  Samson  only  told 
the  secret,  but  you  have  performed  the  operation  ;  you  have 
shaven  your  own  head,  and  wantonly  thrown  away  the  locks. 
America  was  the  hair  from  which  the  charm  was  drawn  that 
infatuated  the  world.  You  ought  to  have  quarrelled  with 
no  power;  but  with  her  upon  no  account.  You  had  nothing 
to  fear  from  any  condescension  you  might  make.  You  might 
have  humored  her,  even  if  there  had  been  no  justice  in  her 
claims,  without  any  risk  to  your  reputation  ;  for  Europe, 
fascinated  by  your  fame,  would  have  ascribed  it  to  your 
benevolence,  and  America,  intoxicated  by  the  grant,  would 
have  slumbered  in  her  fetters. 

But  this  method  of  studying  the  progress  of  the  passions, 
in  order  to  ascertain  the  probable  conduct  of  mankind,  is  a 
philosophy  in  politics  which  those  who  preside  at  St.  James's 
have  no  conception  of.  They  know  no  other  influence  than 
corruption  and  reckon  all  their  probabilities  from  precedent. 
A  new  case  is  to  them  a  new  world,  and  while  they  are  seek- 
ing for  a  parallel  they  get  lost.  The  talents  of  lord  Mans- 
field can  be  estimated  at  best  no  higher  than  those  of  a 
sophist.  He  understands  the  subtleties  but  not  the  elegance 
of  nature  ;  and  by  continually  viewing  mankind  through  the 
cold  medium  of  the  law,  never  thinks  of  penetrating  into  the 
warmer  region  of  the  mind.    As  for  lord  North,  it  is  his 


282  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


happiness  to  have  in  him  more  philosophy  than  sentiment, 
for  he  bears  flogging  hke  a  top,  and  sleeps  the  better  for  it. 
His  punishment  becomes  his  support,  for  while  he  suffers 
the  lash  for  his  sins,  he  keeps  himself  up  by  twirling  about. 
In  politics,  he  is  a  good  arithmetician,  and  in  every  thing  else 
nothing  at  all. 

There  is  one  circumstance  which  comes  so  much  within  lord 
North's  province  as  a  financier,  that  I  am  surprised  it  should 
escape  him,  which  is,  the  different  abilities  of  the  two  coun- 
tries in  supporting  the  expense  ;  for,  strange  as  it  may  seem, 
England  is  not  a  match  for  America  in  this  particular.  By 
a  curious  kind  of  revolution  in  accounts,  the  people  of  Eng- 
land seem  to  mistake  their  poverty  for  their  riches  ;  that  is, 
they  reckon  their  national  debt  as  a  part  of  their  national 
wealth.  They  make  the  same  kind  of  error  which  a  man 
would  do,  who  after  mortgaging  his  estate,  should  add  the 
money  borrowed,  to  the  full  value  of  the  estate,  in  order  to 
count  up  his  worth,  and  in  this  case  he  would  conceive  that 
he  got  rich  by  running  into  debt.  Just  thus  it  is  with  Eng- 
land. The  government  owed  at  the  beginning  of  this  war 
one  hundred  and  thirty-five  millions  sterling,  and  though  the 
individuals  to  whom  it  was  due  had  a  right  to  reckon  their 
shares  as  so  much  private  property,  yet  to  the  nation  collec- 
tively it  was  so  much  poverty.  There  is  as  effectual  limits 
to  public  debts  as  to  private  ones,  for  when  once  the  money 
borrowed  is  so  great  as  to  require  the  whole  yearly  revenue 
to  discharge  the  interest  thereon,  there  is  an  end  to  further 
borrowing ;  in  the  same  manner  as  when  the  interest  of  a 
man's  debts  amounts  to  the  yearly  income  of  his  estate,  there 
is  an  end  to  his  credit.  This  is  nearly  the  case  with  Eng- 
land, the  interest  of  her  present  debt  being  at  least  equal  to 
one  half  of  her  yearly  revenue,  so  that  out  of  ten  millions 
annually  collected  by  taxes,  she  has  but  five  that  she  can 
call  her  own.' 

The  very  reverse  of  this  was  the  case  with  America ;  she 

'  This  may  appear  inconsistent  with  a  passage  in  "  Common  Sense,"  on  the 
advantage  of  a  national  debt,  but  it  should  be  observed  that  the  author  there 
made  the  advantage  dependent  on  such  debt  not  bearing  interest. — Editor. 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


283 


began  the  war  without  any  debt  upon  her,  and  in  order  to 
carry  it  on,  she  neither  raised  money  by  taxes,  nor  borrowed 
it  upon  interest,  but  created  it  ;  and  her  situation  at  this 
time  continues  so  much  the  reverse  of  yours  that  taxing 
would  make  her  rich,  whereas  it  would  make  you  poor. 
When  we  shall  have  sunk  the  sum  which  we  have  created, 
we  shall  then  be  out  of  debt,  be  just  as  rich  as  when  we  be- 
gan, and  all  the  while  we  are  doing  it  shall  feel  no  difference, 
because  the  value  will  rise  as  the  quantity  decreases. 

There  was  not  a  country  in  the  world  so  capable  of  bear- 
ing the  expense  of  a  war  as  America  ;  not  only  because  she 
was  not  in  debt  when  she  began,  but  because  the  country  is 
young  and  capable  of  infinite  improvement,  and  has  an 
almost  boundless  tract  of  new  lands  in  store  ;  whereas  Eng- 
land has  got  to  her  extent  of  age  and  growth,  and  has  not 
unoccupied  land  or  property  in  reserve.  The  one  is  like  a 
young  heir  coming  to  a  large  improvable  estate  ;  the  other 
like  an  old  man  whose  chances  are  over,  and  his  estate  mort- 
gaged for  half  its  worth. 

In  the  second  number  of  the  Crisis,  which  I  find  has  been 
republished  in  England,  I  endeavored  to  set  forth  the  im- 
practicability of  conquering  America.  I  stated  every  case, 
that  I  conceived  could  possibly  happen,  and  ventured  to  pre- 
dict its  consequences.  As  my  conclusions  were  drawn  not 
artfully,  but  naturally,  they  have  all  proved  to  be  true.  I 
was  upon  the  spot ;  knew  the  politics  of  America,  her 
strength  and  resources,  and  by  a  train  of  services,  the 
best  in  my  power  to  render,  was  honored  with  the  friend- 
ship of  the  congress,  the  army  and  the  people.  I  considered 
the  cause  a  just  one.  I  know  and  feel  it  a  just  one,  and 
under  that  confidence  never  made  my  own  profit  or  loss  an 
object.  My  endeavor  was  to  have  the  matter  well  under- 
stood on  both  sides,  and  I  conceived  myself  tendering  a 
general  service,  by  setting  forth  to  the  one  the  impossibility 
of  being  conquered,  and  to  the  other  the  impossibility  of 
conquering.  Most  of  the  arguments  made  use  of  by  the 
ministry  for  supporting  the  war,  are  the  very  arguments  that 
ought  to  have  been  used  against  supporting  it  ;  and  the 


284  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


plans,  by  which  they  thought  to  conquer,  are  the  very  plans 
in  which  they  were  sure  to  be  defeated.  They  have  taken 
every  thing  up  at  the  wrong  end.  Their  ignorance  is  aston- 
ishing, and  were  you  in  my  situation  you  would  see  it. 
They  may,  perhaps,  have  your  confidence,  but  I  am  per- 
suaded that  they  would  make  very  indifferent  members  of 
congress.  I  know  what  England  is,  and  what  America  is, 
and  from  the  compound  of  knowledge,  am  better  enabled  to 
judge  of  the  issue  than  what  the  king  or  any  of  his  minis- 
ters can  be. 

In  this  number  I  have  endeavored  to  show  the  ill  policy 
and  disadvantages  of  the  war.  I  believe  many  of  my  re- 
marks are  new.  Those  which  are  not  so,  I  have  studied  to 
improve  and  place  in  a  manner  that  may  be  clear  and  striking. 
Your  failure  is,  I  am  persuaded,  as  certain  as  fate.  America 
is  above  your  reach.  She  is  at  least  your  equal  in  the  world, 
and  her  independence  neither  rests  upon  your  consent,  nor 
can  it  be  prevented  by  your  arms.  In  short,  you  spend  your 
substance  in  vain,  and  impoverish  yourselves  without  a  hope. 

But  suppose  you  had  conquered  America,  what  advan- 
tages, collectively  or  individually,  as  merchants,  manufac- 
turers, or  conquerors,  could  you  have  looked  for?  This  is 
an  object  you  seemed  never  to  have  attended  to.  Listening 
for  the  sound  of  victory,  and  led  away  by  the  phrenzy  of 
arms,  you  neglected  to  reckon  either  the  cost  or  the  conse- 
quences. You  must  all  pay  towards  the  expense ;  the 
poorest  among  you  must  bear  his  share,  and  it  is  both 
your  right  and  your  duty  to  weigh  seriously  the  matter. 
Had  America  been  conquered,  she  might  have  been  parcelled 
out  in  grants  to  the  favorites  at  court,  but  no  share  of  it 
would  have  fallen  to  you.  Your  taxes  would  not  have  been 
lessened,  because  she  would  have  been  in  no  condition  to 
have  paid  any  towards  your  relief.  We  are  rich  by  contriv- 
ance of  our  own,  which  would  have  ceased  as  soon  as  you 
became  masters.  Our  paper  money  will  be  of  no  use  in 
England,  and  silver  and  gold  we  have  none.  In  the  last 
war  you  made  many  conquests,  but  were  any  of  your  taxes 
lessened  thereby  ?    On  the  contrary,  were  you  not  taxed  to 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


285 


pay  for  the  charge  of  making  them,  and  has  not  the  same 
been  the  case  in  every  war  ? 

To  the  parliament  I  wish  to  address  myself  in  a  more 
particular  manner.  They  appear  to  have  supposed  them- 
selves partners  in  the  chace,  and  to  have  hunted  with  the 
lion  from  an  expectation  of  a  right  in  the  booty  ;  but  in  this 
it  is  most  probable  they  would,  as  legislators,  have  been  dis- 
appointed. The  case  is  quite  a  new  one,  and  many  unfore- 
seen difificulties  would  have  arisen  thereon.  The  parliament 
claimed  a  legislative  right  over  America,  and  the  war  origi- 
nated from  that  pretence.  But  the  army  is  supposed  to 
belong  to  the  crown,  and  if  America  had  been  conquered 
through  their  means,  the  claim  of  the  legislature  would  have 
been  sufTocated  in  the  conquest.  Ceded,  or  conquered, 
countries  are  supposed  to  be  out  of  the  authority  of  parlia- 
ment. Taxation  is  exercised  over  them  by  prerogative  and 
not  by  law.  It  was  attempted  to  be  done  in  the  Grenadas 
a  few  years  ago,  and  the  only  reason  why  it  was  not  done 
was  because  the  crown  had  made  a  prior  relinquishment  of 
its  claim.  Therefore,  parliament  have  been  all  this  while 
supporting  measures  for  the  establishment  of  their  authority, 
in  the  issue  of  which,  they  would  have  been  triumphed  over 
by  the  prerogative.  This  might  have  opened  a  new  and 
interesting  opposition  between  the  parliament  and  the 
crown.  The  crown  would  have  said  that  it  conquered  for 
itself,  and  that  to  conquer  for  parliament  was  an  unknown 
case.  The  parliament  might  have  replied,  that  America  not 
being  a  foreign  country,  but  a  country  in  rebellion,  could  not 
be  said  to  be  conquered,  but  reduced  ;  and  thus  continued 
their  claim  by  disowning  the  term.  The  crown  might  have 
rejoined,  that  however  America  might  be  considered  at  first, 
she  became  foreign  at  last  by  a  declaration  of  independence, 
and  a  treaty  with  France ;  and  that  her  case  being,  by  that 
treaty,  put  within  the  law  of  nations,  was  out  of  the  law  of 
parliament,  who  might  have  maintained,  that  as  their  claim 
over  America  had  never  been  surrendered,  so  neither  could  it 
be  taken  away.  The  crown  might  have  insisted,  that  though 
the  claim  of  parliament  could  not  be  taken  away,  yet,  being 


286  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


an  inferior,  it  might  be  superseded  ;  and  that,  whether  the 
claim  was  withdrawn  from  the  object,  or  the  object  taken 
from  the  claim,  the  same  separation  ensued  ;  and  that 
America  being  subdued  after  a  treaty  with  France,  was  to 
all  intents  and  purposes  a  regal  conquest,  and  of  course  the 
sole  property  of  the  king.  The  parliament,  as  the  legal 
delegates  of  the  people,  might  have  contended  against  the 
term  "  inferior,"  and  rested  the  case  upon  the  antiquity  of 
power,  and  this  would  have  brought  on  a  set  of  very  inter- 
esting and  rational  questions. 

1st,  What  is  the  original  fountain  of  power  and  honour  in 
any  country  ? 

2d,  Whether  the  prerogative  does  not  belong  to  the 
people  ? 

3d,  Whether  there  is  any  such  thing  as  the  English  con- 
stitution ? 

4th,  Of  what  use  is  the  crown  to  the  people  ? 
5th,  Whether  he  who  invented  a  crown  was  not  an  enemy 
to  mankind  ? 

6th,  Whether  it  is  not  a  shame  for  a  man  to  spend  a 
million  a  year  and  do  no  good  for  it,  and  whether  the  money 
might  not  be  better  applied  ? 

7th,  Whether  such  a  man  is  not  better  dead  than  alive? 

8th,  Whether  a  congress,  constituted  like  that  of  America, 
is  not  the  most  happy  and  consistent  form  of  government 
in  the  world  ? — With  a  number  of  others  of  the  same  import. 

In  short,  the  contention  about  the  dividend  might  have 
distracted  the  nation  ;  for  nothing  is  more  common  than  to 
agree  in  the  conquest  and  quarrel  for  the  prize  ;  therefore  it 
is,  perhaps,  a  happy  circumstance,  that  our  successes  have 
prevented  the  dispute. 

If  the  parliament  had  been  thrown  out  in  their  claim, 
which  it  is  most  probable  they  would,  the  nation,  likewise 
would  have  been  thrown  out  in  their  expectation  ;  for  as  the 
taxes  would  have  been  laid  on  by  the  crown  without  the 
parliament,  the  revenue  arising  therefrom,  if  any  could  have 
arisen,  would  not  have  gone  into  the  exchequer,  but  into  the 
privy  purse,  and  so  far  from  lessening  the  taxes,  would  not 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


287 


even  have  been  added  to  them,  but  served  only  as  pocket 
money  to  the  crown.  The  more  I  reflect  on  this  matter, 
the  more  I  am  satisfied  at  the  blindness  and  ill  policy  of  my 
countrymen,  whose  wisdom  seems  to  operate  without  dis- 
cernment, and  their  strength  without  an  object. 

To  the  great  bulwark  of  the  nation,  I  mean  the  mercantile 
and  manufacturing  part  thereof,  I  likewise  present  my  ad- 
dress. It  is  your  interest  to  see  America  an  independent, 
and  not  a  conquered  country.  If  conquered,  she  is  ruined  ; 
and  if  ruined,  poor;  consequently  the  trade  will  be  a  trifle, 
and  her  credit  doubtful.  If  independent,  she  flourishes,  and 
from  her  flourishing  must  your  profits  arise.  It  matters 
nothing  to  you  who  governs  America,  if  your  manufactures 
find  a  consumption  there.  Some  articles  will  consequently 
be  obtained  from  other  places,  and  it  is  right  that  they 
should  ;  but  the  demand  for  others  will  increase,  by  the 
great  influx  of  inhabitants  which  a  state  of  independence 
and  peace  will  occasion,  and  in  the  final  event  you  may  be 
enriched.  The  commerce  of  America  is  perfectly  free,  and 
ever  will  be  so.  She  will  consign  away  no  part  of  it  to  any 
nation.  She  has  not  to  her  friends,  and  certainly  will  not  to 
her  enemies  ;  though  it  is  probable  that  your  narrow-minded 
politicians,  thinking  to  please  you  thereby,  may  some  time  or 
other  unnecessarily  make  such  a  proposal.  Trade  flourishes 
best  when  it  is  free,  and  it  is  weak  policy  to  attempt  to 
fetter  it.  Her  treaty  with  France  is  on  the  most  liberal 
and  generous  principles,  and  the  French,  in  their  conduct 
towards  her,  have  proved  themselves  to  be  philosophers, 
politicians,  and  gentlemen. 

To  the  ministry  I  likewise  address  myself.  You,  gentle- 
men, have  studied  the  ruin  of  your  country,  from  which  it  is 
not  within  your  abilities  to  rescue  her.  Your  attempts  to 
recover  her  are  as  ridiculous  as  your  plans  which  involved 
her  are  detestable.  The  commissioners,  being  about  to  de- 
part, will  probably  bring  you  this,  and  with  it  my  sixth 
number,  addressed  to  them  ;  and  in  so  doing  they  carry  back 
more  Common  Sense  than  they  brought,  and  you  likewise 
will  have  more  than  when  you  sent  them. 


288 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


Having  thus  addressed  you  severally,  I  conclude  by  ad- 
dressing you  collectively.  It  is  a  long  lane  that  has  no  turn- 
ing. A  period  of  sixteen  years  of  misconduct  and  misfor- 
tune, is  certainly  long  enough  for  any  one  nation  to  suffer 
under;  and  upon  a  supposition  that  war  is  not  declared  be- 
tween France  and  you,  I  beg  to  place  a  line  of  conduct  before 
you  that  will  easily  lead  you  out  of  all  your  troubles.  It  has 
been  hinted  before,  and  cannot  be  too  much  attended  to. 

Suppose  America  had  remained  unknown  to  Europe  till 
the  present  year,  and  that  Mr.  Banks  and  Dr.  Solander,  in 
another  voyage  round  the  world,  had  made  the  first  dis- 
covery of  her,  in  the  same  condition  that  she  is  now  in,  of 
arts,  arms,  numbers,  and  civilization.  What,  I  ask,  in  that 
case,  would  have  been  your  conduct  towards  her  ?  For  tJiat 
will  point  out  what  it  ought  to  be  now.  The  problems  and 
their  solutions  are  equal,  and  the  right  line  of  the  one  is  the 
parallel  of  the  other.  The  question  takes  in  every  circum- 
stance that  can  possibly  arise.  It  reduces  politics  to  a  simple 
thought,  and  is  moreover  a  mode  of  investigation,  in  which, 
while  you  are  studying  your  interest  the  simplicity  of  the 
case  will  cheat  you  into  good  temper.  You  have  nothing  to 
do  but  to  suppose  that  you  have  found  America,  and  she 
appears  found  to  your  hand,  and  while  in  the  joy  of  your 
heart  you  stand  still  to  admire  her,  the  path  of  politics  rises 
straight  before  you. 

Were  I  disposed  to  paint  a  contrast,  I  could  easily  set  off 
what  you  have  done  in  the  present  case,  against  what  you 
would  have  done  in  that  case,  and  by  justly  opposing  them, 
conclude  a  picture  that  would  make  you  blush.  But,  as, 
when  any  of  the  prouder  passions  are  hurt,  it  is  much  better 
philosophy  to  let  a  man  slip  into  a  good  temper  than  to 
attack  him  in  a  bad  one,  for  that  reason,  therefore,  I  only 
state  the  case,  and  leave  you  to  reflect  upon  it. 

To  go  a  little  back  into  politics,  it  will  be  found  that  the 
true  interest  of  Britain  lay  in  proposing  and  promoting  the 
independence  of  America  immediately  after  the  last  peace  ; 
for  the  expense  which  Britain  had  then  incurred  by  defend- 
ing America  as  her  own  dominions,  ought  to  have  shown 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


289 


her  the  policy  and  necessity  of  changing  the  style  of  the 
country,  as  the  best  probable  method  of  preventing  future 
wars  and  expense,  and  the  only  method  by  which  she  could 
hold  the  commerce  without  the  charge  of  sovereignty.  Be- 
sides which,  the  title  which  she  assumed,  of  parent  country, 
led  to,  and  pointed  out  the  propriety,  wisdom  and  advantage 
of  a  separation  ;  for,  as  in  private  life,  children  grow  into 
men,  and  by  setting  up  for  themselves,  extend  and  secure 
the  interest  of  the  whole  family,  so  in  the  settlement  of 
colonies  large  enough  to  admit  of  maturity,  the  same  policy 
should  be  pursued,  and  the  same  consequences  would  follow. 
Nothing  hurts  the  affections  both  of  parents  and  children  so 
much,  as  living  too  closely  connected,  and  keeping  up  the 
distinction  too  long.  Domineering  will  not  do  over  those, 
who,  by  a  progress  in  life,  have  become  equal  in  rank  to 
their  parents,  that  is,  when  they  have  families  of  their  own  ; 
and  though  they  may  conceive  themselves  the  subjects  of 
their  advice,  will  not  suppose  them  the  objects  of  their 
government.  I  do  not,  by  drawing  this  parallel,  mean  to 
admit  the  title  of  parent  country,  because,  if  it  is  due  any 
where,  it  is  due  to  Europe  collectively,  and  the  first  settlers 
from  England  were  driven  here  by  persecution.  I  mean 
only  to  introduce  the  term  for  the  sake  of  policy  and  to  show 
from  your  title  the  line  of  your  interest. 

When  you  saw  the  state  of  strength  and  opulence,  and 
that  by  her  own  industry,  which  America  arrived  at,  you 
ought  to  have  advised  her  to  set  up  for  herself,  and  proposed 
an  alliance  of  interest  with  her,  and  in  so  doing  you  would 
have  drawn,  and  that  at  her  own  expense,  more  real  advan- 
tage, and  more  military  supplies  and  assistance,  both  of 
ships  and  men,  than  from  any  weak  and  wrangling  govern- 
ment that  you  could  exercise  over  her.  In  short,  had  you 
studied  only  the  domestic  politics  of  a  family,  you  would 
have  learned  how  to  govern  the  state  ;  but,  instead  of  this 
easy  and  natural  line,  you  flew  out  into  every  thing  which 
was  wild  and  outrageous,  till,  by  following  the  passion  and 
stupidity  of  the  pilot,  you  wrecked  the  vessel  within  sight 
of  the  shore, 

>9 


290  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


Having  shown  what  you  ought  to  have  done,  I  now  pro- 
ceed to  show  why  it  was  not  done.  The  caterpillar  circle 
of  the  court  had  an  interest  to  pursue,  distinct  from,  and 
opposed  to  yours ;  for  though  by  the  independence  of 
America  and  an  alliance  therewith,  the  trade  would  have 
continued,  if  not  increased,  as  in  many  articles  neither  coun- 
try can  go  to  a  better  market,  and  though  by  defending  and 
protecting  herself,  she  would  have  been  no  expense  to  you, 
and  consequently  your  national  charges  would  have  de- 
creased, and  your  taxes  might  have  been  proportionably 
lessened  thereby  ;  yet  the  striking  off  so  many  places  from 
the  court  calendar  was  put  in  opposition  to  the  interest  of 
the  nation.  The  loss  of  thirteen  government  ships,  with 
their  appendages,  here  and  in  England,  is  a  shocking  sound 
in  the  ear  of  a  hungry  courtier.  Your  present  king  and  min- 
istry will  be  the  ruin  of  you  ;  and  you  had  better  risk  a 
revolution  and  call  a  congress,  than  be  thus  led  on  from 
madness  to  despair,  and  from  despair  to  ruin.  America  has 
set  you  the  example,  and  you  may  follow  it  and  be  free. 

I  now  come  to  the  last  part,  a  war  with  France.  This  is 
what  no  man  in  his  senses  will  advise  you  to,  and  all  good 
men  would  wish  to  prevent.  Whether  France  will  declare 
war  against  you,  is  not  for  me  in  this  place  to  mention,  or 
to  hint,  even  if  I  knew  it ;  but  it  must  be  madness  in  you 
to  do  it  first.  The  matter  is  come  now  to  a  full  crisis,  and 
peace  is  easy  if  willingly  set  about.  Whatever  you  may 
think,  France  has  behaved  handsomely  to  you.  She  would 
have  been  unjust  to  herself  to  have  acted  otherwise  than  she 
did  ;  and  having  accepted  our  offer  of  alliance  she  gave  you 
genteel  notice  of  it.  There  was  nothing  in  her  conduct 
reserved  or  indelicate,  and  while  she  announced  her  deter- 
mination to  support  her  treaty,  she  left  you  to  give  the 
first  offence.  America,  on  her  part,  has  exhibited  a  char- 
acter of  firmness  to  the  world.  Unprepared  and  unarmed, 
without  form  or  government,  she  singly  opposed  a  nation 
that  domineered  over  half  the  globe.  The  greatness  of  the 
deed  demands  respect ;  and  though  you  may  feel  resent- 
ment, you  are  compelled  both  to  wonder  and  admire. 


1778] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


291 


Here  I  rest  my  arguments  and  finish  my  address.  Such 
as  it  is,  it  is  a  gift,  and  you  are  welcome.  It  was  always  my 
design  to  dedicate  a  Crisis  to  you,  when  the  time  should 
come  that  would  properly  make  it  a  Crisis  ;  and  when,  like- 
wise, I  should  catch  myself  in  a  temper  to  write  it,  and  sup- 
pose you  in  a  condition  to  read  it.  That  time  has  now 
arrived,  and  with  it  the  opportunity  for  conveyance.  For 
the  commissioners — poor  commissioners  !  having  proclaimed, 
that  "yet  forty  days  and  Nineveh  shall  be  overthrown"  have 
waited  out  the  date,  and,  discontented  with  their  God,  are 
returning  to  their  gourd.  And  all  the  harm  I  wish  them  is, 
that  it  may  not  wither  about  their  ears,  and  that  they  may 
not  make  their  exit  in  the  belly  of  a  whale.' 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  Nov.  21,  1778. 

P.  S. — Though  in  the  tranquillity  of  my  mind  I  have  con- 
cluded with  a  laugh,  yet  I  have  something  to  mention  to 
the  commissioners,  which,  to  them,  is  serious  and  worthy 
their  attention.  Their  authority  is  derived  from  an  act  of 
parliament,  which  likewise  describes  and  limits  their  official 
powers.  Their  commission,  therefore,  is  only  a  recital,  and 
personal  investiture,  of  those  powers,  or  a  nomination  and 
description  of  the  persons  who  are  to  execute  them.  Had 
it  contained  any  thing  contrary  to,  or  gone  beyond  the  line 
of,  the  written  law  from  which  it  is  derived,  and  by  which  it 
is  bound,  it  would,  by  the  English  constitution,  have  been 
treason  in  the  crown,  and  the  king  been  subject  to  an  im- 
peachment. He  dared  not,  therefore,  put  in  his  commission 
what  you  have  put  in  your  proclamation,  that  is,  he  dared 
not  have  authorised  you  in  that  commission  to  burn  and 

'  George  III.  writing  to  Lord  North  May  12,  1778,  recognizes  in  the  rebuff 
■of  the  Commissioners  the  end  of  all  negotiation,  and  begins  to  abandon  the 
hope  of  recovering  the  American  Colonies.  "All  that  can  now  be  done  is 
steadily  to  pursue  the  plan  very  wisely  adopted  in  the  spring,  the  providing 
Nova  Scotia,  the  Floridas,  and  Canada,  with  troops."  He  suggests  that  New 
York  might  be  abandoned. — Editor. 


292  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


destroy  any  thing  in  America.  You  are  both  in  the  act  and 
in  the  commission  styled  commissioners  for  restoring  peace, 
and  the  methods  for  doing  it  are  there  pointed  out.  Your 
last  proclamation  is  signed  by  you  as  commissioners  under 
that  act.  You  make  parliament  the  patron  of  its  contents. 
Yet,  in  the  body  of  it,  you  insert  matters  contrary  both  to 
the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  act,  and  what  likewise  your  king 
dared  not  have  put  in  his  commission  to  you.  The  state  of 
things  in  England,  gentlemen,  is  too  ticklish  for  you  to  run 
hazards.  You  are  accountable  to  parliament  for  the  execution 
of  that  act  according  to  the  letter  of  it.  Your  heads  may  pay 
for  breaking  it,  for  you  certainly  have  broke  it  by  exceeding 
it.  And  as  a  friend,  who  would  wish  you  to  escape  the  paw 
of  the  lion,  as  well  as  the  belly  of  the  whale,  I  civilly  hint  to 
you,  to  keep  within  compass. 

Sir  Harry  Clinton,  strictly  speaking,  is  as  accountable  as 
the  rest ;  for  though  a  general,  he  is  likewise  a  commissioner, 
acting  under  a  superior  authority.  His  first  obedience  is  due 
to  the  act ;  and  his  plea  of  being  a  general,  will  not  and 
cannot  clear  him  as  a  commissioner,  for  that  would  suppose 
the  crown,  in  its  single  capacity,  to  have  a  power  of  dispen- 
sing with  an  act  of  parliament.  Your  situation,  gentlemen, 
is  nice  and  critical,  and  the  more  so  because  England  is 
unsettled.  Take  heed  !  Remember  the  times  of  Charles  the 
first !  For  Laud  and  Stafford  fell  by  trusting  to  a  hope  like 
yours. 

Having  thus  shown  you  the  danger  of  your  proclamation, 
I  now  show  you  the  folly  of  it.  The  means  contradict  your 
design  :  you  threaten  to  lay  waste,  in  order  to  render  Amer- 
ica a  useless  acquisition  of  alliance  to  France.  I  reply,  that 
the  more  destruction  you  commit  (if  you  could  do  it)  the 
more  valuable  to  France  you  make  that  alliance.  You  can 
destroy  only  houses  and  goods;  and  by  so  doing  you  in- 
crease our  demand  upon  her  for  materials  and  merchandize ; 
for  the  wants  of  one  nation,  provided  it  has  freedom  and 
credit,  naturally  produce  riches  to  the  other ;  and,  as  you 
can  neither  ruin  the  land  nor  prevent  the  vegetation,  you 
would  increase  the  exportation  of  our  produce  in  payment, 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


which  would  be  to  her  a  new  fund  of  wealth.  In  short,  had 
you  cast  about  for  a  plan  on  purpose  to  enrich  your  enemies, 
you  could  not  have  hit  upon  a  better. 

C.  S. 


THE  CRISIS. 

VIII. 

ADDRESSED  TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  ENGLAND. 

"Trusting  (says  the  king  of  England  in  his  speech  of 
November  last,)  in  the  divine  providence,  and  in  the  justice 
of  my  cause,  I  am  firmly  resolved  to  prosecute  the  war  with 
vigor,  and  to  make  every  exertion  in  order  to  compel  our 
enemies  to  equitable  terms  of  peace  and  accommodation." 
To  this  declaration  the  United  States  of  America,  and  the 
confederated  powers  of  Europe  will  reply,  if  Britain  will 
have  war,  she  shall  have  enough  of  it. 

Five  years  have  nearly  elapsed  since  the  commencement 
of  hostilities,  and  every  campaign,  by  a  gradual  decay,  has 
lessened  your  ability  to  conquer,  without  producing  a  serious 
thought  on  your  condition  or  your  fate.  Like  a  prodigal 
lingering  in  an  habitual  consumption,  you  feel  the  relics 
of  life,  and  mistake  them  for  recovery.  New  schemes,  like 
new  medicines,  have  administered  fresh  hopes,  and  pro- 
longed the  disease  instead  of  curing  it.  A  change  of  gen- 
erals, like  a  change  of  physicians,  served  only  to  keep  the 
flattery  alive,  and  furnish  new  pretences  for  new  extrava- 
gance. 

"Can  Britain  fail?"*  has  been  proudly  asked  at  the 
undertaking  of  every  enterprize  ;  and  that  "  whatever  she 
wills  is  fate,"  f  has  been  given  with  the  solemnity  of  pro- 
phetic confidence ;  and  though  the  question  has  been  con- 
stantly replied  to  by  disappointment,  and  the  prediction 

♦Whitehead's  new-year's  ode  for  1776. — AutJior. 

f  Ode  at  the  installation  of  lord  North,  for  Chancellor  of  the  university  of 
Oxford. — A  uthor. 


294  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1780 


falsified  by  misfortune,  yet  still  the  insult  continued,  and 
your  catalogue  of  national  evils  increased  therewith.  Eager 
to  persuade  the  world  of  her  power,  she  considered  destruc- 
tion as  the  minister  of  greatness,  and  conceived  that  the 
glory  of  a  nation  like  that  of  an  [American]  Indian,  lay  in 
the  number  of  its  scalps  and  the  miseries  which  it  inflicts. 

Fire,  sword  and  want,  as  far  as  the  arms  of  Britain  could 
extend  them,  have  been  spread  with  wanton  cruelty  along 
the  coast  of  America  ;  and  while  you,  remote  from  the  scene 
of  suffering,  had  nothing  to  lose  and  as  little  to  dread,  the 
information  reached  you  like  a  tale  of  antiquity,  in  which 
the  distance  of  time  defaces  the  conception,  and  changes  the 
severest  sorrows  into  conversable  amusement. 

This  makes  the  second  paper,  addressed  perhaps  in  vain, 
to  the  people  of  England.  That  advice  should  be  taken 
wherever  example  has  failed,  or  precept  be  regarded  where 
warning  is  ridiculed,  is  like  a  picture  of  hope  resting  on 
despair :  but  when  time  shall  stamp  with  universal  currency 
the  facts  you  have  long  encountered  with  a  laugh,  and  the 
irresistible  evidence  of  accumulated  losses,  like  the  hand- 
writing on  the  wall,  shall  add  terror  to  distress,  you  will 
then,  in  a  conflict  of  suffering,  learn  to  sympathize  with 
others  by  feeling  for  yourselves. 

The  triumphant  appearance  of  the  combined  fleets  in  the 
channel  and  at  your  harbor's  mouth,  and  the  expedition  of 
captain  Paul  Jones,  on  the  western  and  eastern  coasts  of 
England  and  Scotland,  will,  by  placing  you  in  the  condition 
of  an  endangered  country,  read  to  you  a  stronger  lecture  on 
the  calamities  of  invasion,  and  bring  to  your  minds  a  truer 
picture  of  promiscuous  distress,  than  the  most  finished 
rhetoric  can  describe  or  the  keenest  imagination  conceive. 

Hitherto  you  have  experienced  the  expenses,  but  nothing 
of  the  miseries  of  war.  Your  disappointments  have  been 
accompanied  with  no  immediate  suffering,  and  your  losses 
came  to  you  only  by  intelligence.  Like  fire  at  a  distance 
you  heard  not  even  the  cry  ;  you  felt  not  the  danger,  you 
saw  not  the  confusion.  To  you  every  thing  has  been  foreign 
but  the  taxes  to  support  it.    You  knew  not  what  it  was  to. 


1780]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  295 


be  alarmed  at  midnight  with  an  armed  enemy  in  the  streets. 
You  were  strangers  to  the  distressing  scene  of  a  family  in 
flight,  and  to  the  thousand  restless  cares  and  tender  sorrows 
that  incessantly  arose.  To  see  women  and  children  wander- 
ing in  the  severity  of  winter,  with  the  broken  remains  of  a 
well  furnished  house,  and  seeking  shelter  in  every  crib  and 
hut,  were  matters  that  you  had  no  conception  of.  You 
knew  not  what  it  was  to  stand  by  and  see  your  goods 
chopped  for  fuel,  and  your  beds  ripped  to  pieces  to  make 
packages  for  plunder.  The  misery  of  others,  like  a  tempes- 
tuous night,  added  to  the  pleasures  of  your  own  security. 
You  even  enjoyed  the  storm,  by  contemplating  the  differ- 
ence of  conditions,  and  that  which  carried  sorrow  into  the 
breasts  of  thousands  served  but  to  heighten  in  you  a  species 
of  tranquil  pride.  Yet  these  are  but  the  fainter  sufferings 
of  war,  when  compared  with  carnage  and  slaughter,  the  mis- 
eries of  a  military  hospital,  or  a  town  in  flames. 

The  people  of  America,  by  anticipating  distress,  had  forti- 
fied their  minds  against  every  species  you  could  inflict.  They 
had  resolved  to  abandon  their  homes,  to  resign  them  to  de- 
struction, and  to  seek  new  settlements  rather  than  submit. 
Thus  familiarized  to  misfortune,  before  it  arrived,  they  bore 
their  portion  with  the  less  regret :  the  justness  of  their  cause 
was  a  continual  source  of  consolation,  and  the  hope  of  final 
victory,  which  never  left  them,  served  to  lighten  the  load 
and  sweeten  the  cup  allotted  them  to  drink. 

But  when  their  troubles  shall  become  yours,  and  invasion 
be  transferred  upon  the  invaders,  you  will  have  neither  their 
extended  wilderness  to  fly  to,  their  cause  to  comfort  you, 
nor  their  hope  to  rest  upon.  Distress  with  them  was  sharp- 
ened by  no  self-reflection.  They  had  not  brought  it  on 
themselves.  On  the  contrary,  they  had  by  every  proceeding 
endeavored  to  avoid  it,  and  had  descended  even  below  the 
mark  of  congressional  character,  to  prevent  a  war.  The 
national  honor  or  the  advantages  of  independence  were 
matters  which,  at  the  commencement  of  the  dispute,  they 
had  never  studied,  and  it  was  only  at  the  last  moment  that 
the  measure  was  resolved  on.    Thus  circumstanced,  they 


296  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1780 


naturally  and  conscientiously  felt  a  dependence  upon  provi- 
dence. They  had  a  clear  pretension  to  it,  and  had  they 
failed  therein,  infidelity  had  gained  a  triumph. 

But  your  condition  is  the  reverse  of  theirs.  Every  thing 
you  suffer  you  have  sought :  nay,  had  you  created  mischiefs 
on  purpose  to  inherit  therr>,  you  could  not  have  secured  your 
title  by  a  firmer  deed.  The  world  awakens  with  no  pity  at 
your  complaints.  You  felt  none  for  others  ;  you  deserve 
none  for  yourselves.  Nature  does  not  interest  herself  in 
cases  like  yours,  but,  on  the  contrary,  turns  from  them  with 
dislike,  and  abandons  them  to  punishment.  You  may  now 
present  memorials  to  what  court  you  please,  but  so  far  as 
America  is  the  object,  none  will  listen.  The  policy  of 
Europe,  and  the  propensity  there  in  every  mind  to  curb  in- 
sulting ambition,  and  bring  cruelty  to  judgment,  are  unitedly 
against  you  ;  and  where  nature  and  interest  reinforce  with 
each  other,  the  compact  is  too  intimate  to  be  dissolved. 

Make  but  the  case  of  others  your  own,  and  your  own 
theirs,  and  you  will  then  have  a  clear  idea  of  the  \lfhole. 
Had  France  acted  towards  her  colonies  as  you  have  done, 
you  would  have  branded  her  with  every  epithet  of  abhor- 
rence ;  and  had  you,  like  her,  stepped  in  to  succour  a  strug- 
gling people,  all  Europe  must  have  echoed  with  your  own 
applauses.  But  entangled  in  the  passion  of  dispute  you  see 
it  not  as  you  ought,  and  form  opinions  thereon  which  suit 
with  no  interest  but  your  own.  You  wonder  that  America 
does  not  rise  in  union  with  you  to  impose  on  herself  a  por- 
tion of  your  taxes  and  reduce  herself  to  unconditional  sub- 
mission. You  are  amazed  that  the  southern  powers  of 
Europe  do  not  assist  you  in  conquering  a  country  which  is 
afterwards  to  be  turned  against  themselves ;  and  that  the 
northern  ones  do  not  contribute  to  reinstate  you  in  America 
who  already  enjoy  the  market  for  naval  stores  by  the  separa- 
tion. You  seem  surprised  that  Holland  does  not  pour  in  her 
succours  to  maintain  you  mistress  of  the  seas,  when  her  own 
commerce  is  suffering  by  your  act  of  navigation  ;  or  that  any 
country  should  study  her  own  interest  while  yours  is  on  the 
carpet. 


1780]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  297 


Such  excesses  of  passionate  folly,  and  unjust  as  well  as 
unwise  resentment,  have  driven  you  on,  like  Pharaoh,  to  un- 
pitied  miseries,  and  while  the  importance  of  the  quarrel  shall 
perpetuate  your  disgrace,  the  flag  of  America  will  carry  it 
round  the  world.  The  natural  feelings  of  every  rational 
being  will  be  against  you,  and  wherever  the  story  shall  be 
told,  you  will  have  neither  excuse  nor  consolation  left.  With 
an  unsparing  hand,  and  an  insatiable  mind,  you  have  deso- 
lated the  world,  to  gain  dominion  and  to  lose  it  ;  and  while, 
in  a  phrenzy  of  avarice  and  ambition,  the  east  and  the  west 
are  doomed  to  tributary  bondage,  you  rapidly  earned  de- 
struction as  the  wages  of  a  nation. 

At  the  thoughts  of  a  war  at  home,  every  man  amongst 
you  ought  to  tremble.  The  prospect  is  far  more  dreadful 
there  than  in  America.  Here  the  party  that  was  against  the 
measures  of  the  continent  were  in  general  composed  of  a 
kind  of  neutrals,  who  added  strength  to  neither  army.  There 
does  not  exist  a  being  so  devoid  of  sense  and  sentiment  as 
to  covet  "  biconditional  submission'''  and  therefore  no  man 
in  America  could  be  with  you  in  principle.  Several  might 
from  a  cowardice  of  mind,  prefer  it  to  the  hardships  and 
dangers  of  opposing  it ;  but  the  same  disposition  that  gave 
them  such  a  choice,  unfitted  them  to  act  either  for  or  against 
us.  But  England  is  rent  into  parties,  with  equal  shares  of 
resolution.  The  principle  which  produced  the  war  divides 
the  nation.  Their  animosities  are  in  the  highest  state  of 
fermentation,  and  both  sides,  by  a  call  of  the  militia,  are  in 
arms.  No  human  foresight  can  discern,  no  conclusion  can 
be  formed,  what  turn  a  war  might  take,  if  once  set  on  foot 
by  an  invasion.  She  is  not  now  in  a  fit  disposition  to  make 
a  common  cause  of  her  own  affairs,  and  having  no  conquests 
to  hope  for  abroad,  and  nothing  but  expenses  arising  at 
home,  her  everything  is  staked  upon  a  defensive  combat,  and 
the  further  she  goes  the  worse  she  is  ofT. 

There  are  situations  that  a  nation  may  be  in,  in  which 
peace  or  war,  abstracted  from  every  other  consideration,  may 
be  politically  right  or  wrong.  When  nothing  can  be  lost  by 
a  war,  but  what  must  be  lost  without  it,  war  is  then  the 


298  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1780 


policy  of  that  country  ;  and  such  was  the  situation  of  America 
at  the  commencement  of  hostilities :  but  when  no  security 
can  be  gained  by  a  war,  but  what  may  be  accomplished  by  a 
peace,  the  case  becomes  reversed,  and  such  now  is  the  situa- 
tion of  England. 

That  America  is  beyond  the  reach  of  conquest,  is  a  fact 
which  experience  has  shown  and  time  confirmed,  and  this 
admitted,  what,  I  ask,  is  now  the  object  of  contention?  If 
there  be  any  honor  in  pursuing  self-destruction  with  inflexi- 
ble passion — if  national  suicide  be  the  perfection  of  national 
glory,  you  may,  with  all  the  pride  of  criminal  happiness, 
expire  unenvied  and  unrivalled.  But  when  the  tumult  of 
war  shall  cease,  and  the  tempest  of  present  passions  be  suc- 
ceeded by  calm  reflection,  or  when  those,  who,  surviving  its 
fury,  shall  inherit  from  you  a  legacy  of  debts  and  misfor- 
tunes, when  the  yearly  revenue  shall  scarcely  be  able  to  dis- 
charge the  interest  of  the  one,  and  no  possible  remedy  be 
left  for  the  other,  ideas  far  different  from  the  present  will 
arise,  and  imbitter  the  remembrance  of  former  follies.  A 
mind  disarmed  of  its  rage  feels  no  pleasure  in  contemplating 
a  frantic  quarrel.  Sickness  of  thought,  the  sure  consequence 
of  conduct  like  yours,  leaves  no  ability  for  enjoyment,  no 
relish  for  resentment ;  and  though,  like  a  man  in  a  fit,  you 
feel  not  the  injury  of  the  struggle,  nor  distinguish  between 
strength  and  disease,  the  weakness  will  nevertheless  be  pro- 
portioned to  the  violence,  and  the  sense  of  pain  increase 
with  the  recovery. 

To  what  persons  or  to  whose  system  of  politics  you  owe 
your  present  state  of  wretchedness,  is  a  matter  of  total  in- 
difference to  America.  They  have  contributed,  however 
unwillingly,  to  set  her  above  themselves,  and  she,  in  the 
tranquillity  of  conquest,  resigns  the  inquiry.  The  case  now 
is  not  so  properly  who  began  the  war,  as  who  continues  it. 
That  there  are  men  in  all  countries  to  whom  a  state  of  war  is 
a  mine  of  wealth,  is  a  fact  never  to  be  doubted.  Characters 
like  these  naturally  breed  in  the  putrefaction  of  distempered 
times,  and  after  fattening  on  the  disease,  they  perish  with  it, 
or,  impregnated  with  the  stench,  retreat  into  obscurity. 


1780]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  299 


But  there  are  several  erroneous  notions  to  which  you  like- 
wise owe  a  share  of  your  misfortunes,  and  which,  if  continued, 
will  only  increase  your  trouble  and  your  losses.  An  opinion 
hangs  about  the  gentlemen  of  the  minority,  that  America 
would  relish  measures  under  their  administration,  which  she 
would  not  from  the  present  cabinet.  On  this  rock  lord 
Chatham  would  have  split  had  he  gained  the  helm,  and  sev- 
eral of  his  survivors  are  steering  the  same  course.  Such  dis- 
tinctions in  the  infancy  of  the  argument  had  some  degree  of 
foundation,  but  they  now  serve  no  other  purpose  than  to 
lengthen  out  a  war,  in  which  the  limits  of  a  dispute,  being 
fixed  by  the  fate  of  arms,  and  guaranteed  by  treaties,  are  not 
to  be  changed  or  altered  by  trivial  circumstances. 

The  ministry,  and  many  of  the  minority,  sacrifice  their 
time  in  disputing  on  a  question  with  which  they  have  noth- 
ing to  do,  namely,  whether  America  shall  be  independent  or 
not?  Whereas  the  only  question  that  can  come  under  their 
determination  is,  whether  they  will  accede  to  it  or  not  ? 
They  confound  a  military  question  with  a  political  one,  and 
undertake  to  supply  by  a  vote  what  they  lost  by  a  battle. 
Say  she  shall  not  be  independent,  and  it  will  signify  as  much 
as  if  they  voted  against  a  decree  of  fate,  or  say  that  she 
shall,  and  she  will  be  no  more  independent  than  before. 
Questions,  which,  when  determined,  cannot  be  executed, 
serve  only  to  show  the  folly  of  dispute  and  the  weakness  of 
disputants. 

From  a  long  habit  of  calling  America  your  own,  you  sup- 
pose her  governed  by  the  same  prejudices  and  conceits  which 
govern  yourselves.  Because  you  have  set  up  a  particular 
denomination  of  religion  to  the  exclusion  of  all  others,  you 
imagine  she  must  do  the  same,  and  because  you,  with  an 
unsociable  narrowness  of  mind,  have  cherished  enmity 
against  France  and  Spain,  you  suppose  her  alliance  must 
be  defective  in  friendship.  Copying  her  notions  of  the 
world  from  you,  she  formerly  thought  as  you  instructed,  but 
now  feeling  herself  free,  and  the  prejudice  removed,  she 
thinks  and  acts  upon  a  different  system.  It  frequently  hap- 
pens that  in  proportion  as  we  are  taught  to  dislike  persons 


300  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1780 


and  countries,  not  knowing  why,  we  feel  an  ardor  of  esteem 
upon  the  removal  of  the  mistake  :  it  seems  as  if  something 
was  to  be  made  amends  for,  and  we  eagerly  give  in  to  every 
office  of  friendship,  to  atone  for  the  injury  of  the  error. 

But,  perhaps,  there  is  something  in  the  extent  of  coun- 
tries, which,  among  the  generality  of  people,  insensibly 
communicates  extension  of  the  mind.  The  soul  of  an  island- 
er, in  its  native  state,  seems  bounded  by  the  foggy  con- 
fines of  the  water's  edge,  and  all  beyond  affords  to  him 
matters  only  for  profit  or  curiosity,  not  for  friendship.  His 
island  is  to  him  his  world,  and  fixed  to  that,  his  every  thing 
centres  in  it ;  while  those  who  are  inhabitants  of  a  continent, 
by  casting  their  eye  over  a  larger  field,  take  in  likewise  a 
larger  intellectual  circuit,  and  thus  approaching  nearer  to 
an  acquaintance  with  the  universe,  their  atmosphere  of 
thought  is  extended,  and  their  liberality  fills  a  wider  space. 
In  short,  our  minds  seem  to  be  measured  by  countries  when 
we  are  men,  as  they  are  by  places  when  we  are  children,  and 
until  something  happens  to  disentangle  us  from  the  preju- 
dice, we  serve  under  it  without  perceiving  it. 

In  addition  to  this,  it  may  be  remarked,  that  men  who 
study  any  universal  science,  the  principles  of  which  are  uni- 
versally known,  or  admitted,  and  applied  without  distinction 
to  the  common  benefit  of  all  countries,  obtain  thereby  a 
larger  share  of  philanthropy  than  those  who  only  study 
national  arts  and  improvements.  Natural  philosophy, 
mathematics  and  astronomy,  carry  the  mind  from  the  coun- 
try to  the  creation,  and  give  it  a  fitness  suited  to  the  extent. 
It  was  not  Newton's  honour,  neither  could  it  be  his  pride, 
that  he  was  an  Englishman,  but  that  he  was  a  philosopher: 
the  heavens  had  liberated  him  from  the  prejudices  of  an 
island,  and  science  had  expanded  his  soul  as  boundless  as 
his  studies. 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  March,  1780. 


1780] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


301 


THE  CRISIS. 
IX. 

Had  America  pursued  her  advantages  with  half  the  spirit 
that  she  resisted  her  misfortunes,  she  would,  before  now, 
have  been  a  conquering  and  a  peaceful  people  ;  but  lulled 
in  the  lap  of  soft  tranquillity,  she  rested  on  her  hopes,  and 
adversity  only  has  convulsed  her  into  action.  Whether 
subtlety  or  sincerity  at  the  close  of  the  last  year  induced 
the  enemy  to  an  appearance  for  peace,  is  a  point  not  material 
to  know  ;  it  is  sufficient  that  we  see  the  effects  it  has  had  on 
our  politics,  and  that  we  sternly  rise  to  resent  the  delusion. 

The  war,  on  the  part  of  America,  has  been  a  war  of  natural 
feelings.  Brave  in  distress ;  serene  in  conquest ;  drowsy 
while  at  rest ;  and  in  every  situation  generously  disposed  to 
peace;  a  dangerous  calm,  and  a  most  heightened  zeal  have, 
as  circumstances  varied,  succeeded  each  other.  Every  pas- 
sion but  that  of  despair  has  been  called  to  a  tour  of  duty  ; 
and  so  mistaken  has  been  the  enemy,  of  our  abilities  and 
disposition,  that  when  she  supposed  us  conquered,  we  rose 
the  conquerors.  The  extensiveness  of  the  United  States, 
and  the  variety  of  their  resources ;  the  universality  of  their 
cause,  the  quick  operation  of  their  feelings,  and  the  similarity 
of  their  sentiments,  have,  in  every  trying  situation,  produced 
a  something,  which,  favored  by  providence,  and  pursued  with 
ardor,  has  accomplished  in  an  instant  the  business  of  a  cam- 
paign. We  have  never  deliberately  sought  victory,  but 
snatched  it ;  and  bravely  undone  in  an  hour  the  blotted 
operations  of  a  season. 

The  reported  fate  of  Charleston,  like  the  misfortunes  of 
1776,  has  at  last  called  forth  a  spirit,  and  kindled  up  a  flame, 
which  perhaps  no  other  event  could  have  produced.  If  the 
enemy  has  circulated  a  falsehood,  they  have  unwisely  aggra- 
vated us  into  life,  and  if  they  have  told  us  the  truth,  they 
have  unintentionally  done  us  a  service.  We  were  returning 
with  folded  arms  from  the  fatigues  of  war,  and  thinking  and 
sitting  leisurely  down  to  enjoy  repose.    The  dependence 


302 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


that  has  been  put  upon  Charleston  threw  a  drowsiness  over 
America.  We  looked  on  the  business  done — the  conflict 
over — the  matter  settled — or  that  all  which  remained  unfin- 
ished would  follow  of  itself.  In  this  state  of  dangerous 
relaxation,  exposed  to  the  poisonous  infusions  of  the  enemy, 
and  having  no  common  danger  to  attract  our  attention,  we 
were  extinguishing,  by  stages,  the  ardor  we  began  with,  and 
surrendering  by  piece-meals  the  virtue  that  defended  us. 

Afflicting  as  the  loss  of  Charleston  may  be,  yet  if  it  uni- 
versally rouse  us  from  the  slumber  of  twelve  months  past, 
and  renew  in  us  the  spirit  of  former  days,  it  will  produce 
an  advantage  more  important  than  its  loss.  America  ever 
is  what  she  thinks  herself  to  be.  Governed  by  sentiment, 
and  acting  her  own  mind,  she  becomes,  as  she  pleases,  the 
•victor  or  the  victim. 

It  is  not  the  conquest  of  towns,  nor  the  accidental  capture 
of  garrisons,  that  can  reduce  a  country  so  extensive  as  this. 
The  sufferings  of  one  part  can  never  be  relieved  by  the 
exertions  of  another,  and  there  is  no  situation  the  enemy  can 
be  placed  in  that  does  not  afford  to  us  the  same  advantages 
which  he  seeks  himself.  By  dividing  his  force,  he  leaves 
€very  post  attackable.  It  is  a  mode  of  war  that  carries 
with  it  a  confession  of  weakness,  and  goes  on  the  principle 
of  distress  rather  than  conquest. 

The  decline  of  the  enemy  is  visible,  not  only  in  their 
operations,  but  in  their  plans ;  Charleston  originally  made 
but  a  secondary  object  in  the  system  of  attack,  and  it  is  now 
become  their  principal  one,  because  they  have  not  been  able 
to  succeed  elsewhere.  It  would  have  carried  a  cowardly 
appearance  in  Europe  had  they  formed  their  grand  expe- 
dition, in  1776,  against  a  part  of  the  continent  where  there 
was  no  army,  or  not  a  sufificient  one  to  oppose  them  ;  but 
failing  year  after  year  in  their  impressions  here,  and  to  the 
eastward  and  northward,  they  deserted  their  capital  design, 
.and  prudently  contenting  themselves  with  what  they  can 
get,  give  a  flourish  of  honor  to  conceal  disgrace. 

But  this  piece-meal  work  is  not  conquering  the  continent. 
It  is  a  discredit  in  them  to  attempt  it,  and  in  us  to  suffer 


1780]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  303 


it.  It  is  now  full  time  to  put  an  end  to  a  war  of  aggrava- 
tions, which,  on  one  side,  has  no  possible  object,  and  on  the 
other  has  every  inducement  which  honor,  interest,  safety  and 
happiness  can  inspire.  If  we  suffer  them  much  longer  to 
remain  among  us,  we  shall  become  as  bad  as  themselves. 
An  association  of  vice  will  reduce  us  more  than  the  sword. 
A  nation  hardened  in  the  practice  of  iniquity  knows  better 
how  to  profit  by  it,  than  a  young  country  newly  corrupted. 
We  are  not  a  match  for  them  in  the  line  of  advantageous 
guilt,  nor  they  for  us  on  the  principles  which  we  bravely  set 
out  with.  Our  first  days  were  our  days  of  honour.  They 
have  marked  the  character  of  America  wherever  the  story  of 
her  wars  are  told ;  and  convinced  of  this,  we  have  nothing 
to  do  but  wisely  and  unitedly  to  tread  the  well  known  track. 
The  progress  of  a  war  is  often  as  ruinous  to  individuals,  as 
the  issue  of  it  is  to  a  nation  ;  and  it  is  not  only  necessary 
that  our  forces  be  such  that  we  be  conquerors  in  the  end,  but 
that  by  timely  exertions  we  be  secure  in  the  interim.  The 
present  campaign  will  afford  an  opportunity  which  has  never 
presented  itself  before,  and  the  preparations  for  it  are  equally 
necessary,  whether  Charleston  stand  or  fall.  Suppose  the 
first,  it  is  in  that  case  only  a  failure  of  the  enemy,  not  a  de- 
feat. All  the  conquest  that  a  besieged  town  can  hope  for, 
is,  not  to  be  conquered ;  and  compelling  an  enemy  to  raise 
the  siege,  is  to  the  besieged  a  victory.  But  there  must  be  a 
probability  amounting  almost  to  a  certainty,  that  would 
justify  a  garrison  marching  out  to  attack  a  retreat.  There- 
fore should  Charleston  not  be  taken,  and  the  enemy  aban- 
don the  siege,  every  other  part  of  the  continent  should 
prepare  to  meet  them  ;  and,  on  the  contrary,  should  it  be 
taken,  the  same  preparations  are  necessary  to  balance  the 
loss,  and  put  ourselves  in  a  position  to  co-operate  with  our 
allies,  immediately  on  their  arrival. 

We  are  not  now  fighting  our  battles  alone,  as  we  were  in 
1776  ;  England,  from  a  malicious  disposition  to  America,  has 
not  only  not  declared  war  against  France  and  Spain,  but,  the 
better  to  prosecute  her  passions  here,  has  afforded  those 
powers  no  military  object,  and  avoids  them,  to  distress  us. 


304  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1780 


She  will  suffer  her  West  India  islands  to  be  overrun  by 
France,  and  her  southern  settlements  to  be  taken  by  Spain, 
rather  than  quit  the  object  that  gratifies  her  revenge.  This 
conduct,  on  the  part  of  Britain,  has  pointed  out  the  pro- 
priety of  France  sending  a  naval  and  land  force  to  co-operate 
with  America  on  the  spot.  Their  arrival  cannot  be  very 
distant,  nor  the  ravages  of  the  enemy  long.  The  recruiting 
the  army,  and  procuring  the  supplies,  are  the  two  things 
most  necessary  to  be  accomplished,  and  a  capture  of  either 
of  the  enemy's  divisions  will  restore  to  America  peace  and 
plenty. 

At  a  crisis,  big,  like  the  present,  with  expectation  and 
events,  the  whole  country  is  called  to  unanimity  and  exer- 
tion. Not  an  ability  ought  now  to  sleep,  that  can  produce 
but  a  mite  to  the  general  good,  nor  even  a  whisper  to  pass 
that  militates  against  it.  The  necessity  of  the  case,  and  the 
importance  of  the  consequences,  admit  no  delay  from  a 
friend,  no  apology  from  an  enemy.  To  spare  now,  would 
be  the  height  of  extravagance,  and  to  consult  present  ease, 
would  be  to  sacrifice  it  perhaps  forever. 

America,  rich  in  patriotism  and  produce,  can  want  neither 
men  nor  supplies,  when  a  serious  necessity  calls  them  forth. 
The  slow  operation  of  taxes,  owing  to  the  extensiveness  of 
collection,  and  their  depreciated  value  before  they  arrived 
in  the  treasury,  have,  in  many  instances,  thrown  a  burden 
upon  government,  which  has  been  artfully  interpreted  by 
the  enemy  into  a  general  decline  throughout  the  country. 
Yet  this,  inconvenient  as  it  may  at  first  appear,  is  not  only 
remediable,  but  may  be  turned  to  an  immediate  advantage; 
for  it  makes  no  real  difference,  whether  a  certain  number  of 
men,  or  company  of  militia  (and  in  this  country  every  man 
is  a  militia-man),  are  directed  by  law  to  send  a  recruit  at 
their  own  expense,  or  whether  a  tax  is  laid  on  them  for  that 
purpose,  and  the  man  hired  by  government  afterwards. 
The  first,  if  there  is  any  difference,  is  both  cheapest  and 
best,  because  it  saves  the  expense  which  would  attend  col- 
lecting it  as  a  tax,  and  brings  the  man  sooner  into  the  field 
than  the  modes  of  recruiting  formerly  used  ;  and,  on  this 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


principle,  a  law  has  been  passed  in  this  state,  for  recruiting 
two  men  from  each  company  of  militia,  which  will  add  up- 
wards of  a  thousand  to  the  force  of  the  country. 

But  the  flame  which  has  broke  forth  in  this  city  since  the 
report  from  New-York,  of  the  loss  of  Charleston,  not  only 
does  honor  to  the  place,  but,  like  the  blaze  of  1776,  will 
kindle  into  action  the  scattered  sparks  throughout  America. 
The  valor  of  a  country  may  be  learned  by  the  bravery  of  its 
soldiery,  and  the  general  cast  of  its  inhabitants,  but  confi- 
dence of  success  is  best  discovered  by  the  active  measures 
pursued  by  men  of  property  ;  and  when  the  spirit  of  enter- 
prise becomes  so  universal  as  to  act  at  once  on  all  ranks 
of  men,  a  war  may  then,  and  not  till  then,  be  styled  truly 
popular. 

In  1776,  the  ardor  of  the  enterprising  part  was  consider- 
ably checked  by  the  real  revolt  of  some,  and  the  coolness  of 
others.  But  in  the  present  case,  there  is  a  firmness  in  the 
substance  and  property  of  the  country  to  the  public  cause. 
An  association  has  been  entered  into  by  the  merchants, 
tradesmen,  and  principal  inhabitants  of  the  city  [Philadel- 
phia], to  receive  and  support  the  new  state  money  at  the 
value  of  gold  and  silver;  a  measure  which,  while  it  does 
them  honor,  will  likewise  contribute  to  their  interest,  by 
rendering  the  operations  of  the  campaign  convenient  and 
effectual. 

Nor  has  the  spirit  of  exertion  stopped  here.  A  voluntary 
subscription  is  likewise  begun,  to  raise  a  fund  of  hard  money, 
to  be  given  as  bounties,  to  fill  up  the  full  quota  of  the  Penn- 
sylvania line.'  It  has  been  the  remark  of  the  enemy,  that 
every  thing  in  America  has  been  done  by  the  force  of 
government ;  but  when  she  sees  individuals  throwing  in 
their  voluntary  aid,  and  facilitating  the  public  measures 
in  concert  with  the  established  powers  of  the  country,  it 
will  convince  her  that  the  cause  of  America  stands  not  on 
the  will  of  a  few  but  on  the  broad  foundation  of  property 
and  popularity. 

'  Paine,  who  was  now  Clerk  of  the  Pennsylvania  Assembly,  first  proposed  the 
subscription,  and  headed  it  with  $500. — Editor. 


306  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1780 


Thus  aided  and  thus  supported,  disaffection  will  decline, 
and  the  withered  head  of  tyranny  expire  in  America.  The 
ravages  of  the  enemy  will  be  short  and  limited,  and  like  all 
their  former  ones,  will  produce  a  victory  over  themselves. 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  June  9,  1780. 

11^^  At  the  time  of  writing  this  number  of  the  Crisis,  the 
loss  of  Charleston,  though  believed  by  some,  was  more  con- 
fidently disbelieved  by  others.  But  there  ought  to  be  no 
longer  a  doubt  upon  the  matter.  Charleston  is  gone,  and  I 
believe  for  the  want  of  a  sufficient  supply  of  provisions. 
The  man  that  does  not  now  feel  for  the  honor  of  the  best 
and  noblest  cause  that  ever  a  country  engaged  in,  and  exert 
himself  accordingly,  is  no  longer  worthy  of  a  peaceable  resi- 
dence among  a  people  determined  to  be  free.  C.  S. 


THE  CRISIS  EXTRAORDINARY. 

ON  THE  SUBJECT  OF  TAXATION. 

It  is  impossible  to  sit  down  and  think  seriously  on  the 
affairs  of  America,  but  the  original  principles  upon  which 
she  resisted,  and  the  glow  and  ardor  which  they  inspired, 
will  occur  like  the  undefaced  remembrance  of  a  lovely  scene. 
To  trace  over  in  imagination  the  purity  of  the  cause,  the 
voluntary  sacrifices  that  were  made  to  support  it,  and  all  the 
various  turnings  of  the  war  in  its  defence,  is  at  once  both 
paying  and  receiving  respect.  The  principles  deserve  to  be 
remembered,  and  to  remember  them  rightly  is  repossessing 
them.  In  this  indulgence  of  generous  recollection,  we  be- 
come gainers  by  what  we  seem  to  give,  and  the  more  we 
bestow  the  richer  we  become. 

So  extensively  right  was  the  ground  on  which  America 
proceeded,  that  it  not  only  took  in  every  just  and  liberal 
sentiment  which  could  impress  the  heart,  but  made  it  the 
direct  interest  of  every  class  and  order  of  men  to  defend  the 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


country.  The  war,  on  the  part  of  Britain,  was  originally  a 
war  of  covetousness.  The  sordid  and  not  the  splendid  pas- 
sions gave  it  being.  The  fertile  fields  and  prosperous  infancy 
of  America  appeared  to  her  as  mines  for  tributary  wealth. 
She  viewed  the  hive,  and  disregarding  the  industry  that  had 
enriched  it,  thirsted  for  the  honey.  But  in  the  present  stage 
of  her  affairs,  the  violence  of  temper  is  added  to  the  rage  of 
avarice  ;  and  therefore,  that  which  at  the  first  setting  out 
proceeded  from  purity  of  principle  and  public  interest,  is 
now  heightened  by  all  the  obligations  of  necessity  ;  for  it 
requires  but  little  knowledge  of  human  nature  to  discern 
what  would  be  the  consequence,  were  America  again 
reduced  to  the  subjection  of  Britain.  Uncontrolled  power, 
in  the  hands  of  an  incensed,  imperious,  and  rapacious  con- 
queror, is  an  engine  of  dreadful  execution,  and  woe  be  to 
that  country  over  which  it  can  be  exercised.  The  names  of 
whig  and  tory  would  then  be  sunk  in  the  general  term  of 
rebel,  and  the  oppression,  whatever  it  might  be,  would,  with 
very  few  instances  of  exception,  light  equally  on  all. 

Britain  did  not  go  to  war  with  America  for  the  sake  of 
dominion,  because  she  was  then  in  possession  ;  neither  was  it 
for  the  extension  of  trade  and  commerce,  because  she  had 
monopolized  the  whole,  and  the  country  had  yielded  to  it ; 
neither  was  it  to  extinguish  what  she  might  call  rebellion, 
because  before  she  began  no  resistance  existed.  It  could 
then  be  from  no  other  motive  than  avarice,  or  a  design  of 
establishing,  in  the  first  instance,  the  same  taxes  in  America 
as  are  paid  in  England  (which,  as  I  shall  presently  show, 
are  above  eleven  times  heavier  than  the  taxes  we  now  pay 
for  the  present  year,  1780)  or,  in  the  second  instance,  to  con- 
fiscate the  whole  property  of  America,  in  case  of  resistance 
and  conquest  of  the  latter,  of  which  she  had  then  no  doubt. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  show  what  the  taxes  in  England 
are,  and  what  the  yearly  expense  of  the  present  war  is  to 
her — what  the  taxes  of  this  country  amount  to,  and  what 
the  annual  expense  of  defending  it  effectually  will  be  to  us; 
and  shall  endeavor  concisely  to  point  out  the  cause  of  our 
difficulties,  and  the  advantages  on  one  side,  and  the  conse- 


308  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1780 


quences  on  the  other,  in  case  we  do,  or  do  not,  put  ourselves 
in  an  effectual  state  of  defence.  I  mean  to  be  open,  candid, 
and  sincere.  I  see  a  universal  wish  to  expel  the  enemy  from 
the  country,  a  murmuring  because  the  war  is  not  carried  on 
with  more  vigor,  and  my  intention  is  to  show,  as  shortly  as 
possible,  both  the  reason  and  the  remedy. 

The  number  of  souls  in  England  (exclusive  of  Scotland 
and  Ireland)  is  seven  millions,*  and  the  number  of  souls  in 
America  is  three  millions. 

The  amount  of  taxes  in  England  (exclusive  of  Scotland 
and  Ireland)  was,  before  the  present  war  commenced,  eleven 
millions  six  hundred  and  forty-two  thousand  six  hundred 
and  fifty-three  pounds  sterling;  which,  on  an  average,  is  no 
less  a  sum  than  one  pound  thirteen  shillings  and  three-pence 
sterling  per  head  per  annum,  men,  women,  and  children  ; 
besides  county  taxes,  taxes  for  the  support  of  the  poor,  and 
a  tenth  of  all  the  produce  of  the  earth  for  the  support  of 
the  bishops  and  clergy. f  Nearly  five  millions  of  this  sum 
went  annually  to  pay  the  interest  of  the  national  debt,  con- 
tracted by  former  wars,  and  the  remaining  sum  of  six  mil- 
lions six  hundred  and  forty-two  thousand  six  hundred  pounds 
was  applied  to  defray  the  yearly  expense  of  government,  the 
peace  establishment  of  the  army  and  navy,  placemen,  pen- 
sioners, etc. ;  consequently  the  whole  of  the  enormous  taxes 
being  thus  appropriated,  she  had  nothing  to  spare  out  of 
them  towards  defraying  the  expenses  of  the  present  war  or 

*  This  is  taking  the  highest  number  that  the  people  of  England  have  been, 
or  can  be  rated  at. — Author. 

\  The  following  is  taken  from  Dr.  Price's  state  of  the  taxes  of  England, 
p.  96,  97,  98. 

An  account  of  the  money  drawn  from  the  public  by  taxes,  annually,  being  the 
medium  of  three  years  before  the  year  1776. 

Amount  of  customs  in  England  2,528,275/. 
Amount  of  the  excise  in  England  4,649,892 
Land  tax  at  3^-.  1,300,000 
Land  tax  at  \s.  in  the  pound  450,000 
Salt  duties  218,739 
Duties  on  stamps,  cards,  dice,  advertisements,  bonds,  leases, 

indentures,  newspapers,  almanacks,  etc.  280,788 
Duties  on  houses  and  windows  385,369 


1780]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  309 

any  other.  Yet  had  she  not  been  in  debt  at  the  beginning 
of  the  war,  as  we  were  not,  and,  like  us,  had  only  a  land  and 
not  a  naval  war  to  carry  on,  her  then  revenue  of  eleven  mil- 
lions and  a  half  pounds  sterling  would  have  defrayed  all  her 
annual  expenses  of  war  and  government  within  each  year. 

But  this  not  being  the  case  with  her,  she  is  obliged  to  bor- 
row about  ten  millions  pounds  sterling,  yearly,  to  prosecute 
the  war  that  she  is  now  engaged  in,  (this  year  she  borrowed 
twelve)  and  lay  on  new  taxes  to  discharge  the  interest ;  allow- 
ing that  the  present  war  has  cost  her  only  fifty  millions  ster- 
ling, the  interest  thereon,  at  five  per  cent.,  will  be  two  millions 
and  an  half;  therefore  the  amount  of  her  taxes  now  must  be 
fourteen  millions,  which  on  an  average  is  no  less  than  forty 
shillings  sterling,  per  head,  men,  women  and  children,  through- 
out the  nation.  Now  as  this  expense  of  fifty  millions  was 
borrowed  on  the  hopes  of  conquering  America,  and  as  it  was 
avarice  which  first  induced  her  to  commence  the  war,  how 
truly  wretched  and  deplorable  would  the  condition  of  this 
country  be,  were  she,  by  her  own  remissness,  to  suffer  an 
enemy  of  such  a  disposition,  and  so  circumstanced,  to  reduce 
her  to  subjection. 

I  now  proceed  to  the  revenues  of  America. 

I  have  already  stated  the  number  of  souls  in  America  to 
be  three  millions,  and  by  a  calculation  that  I  have  made, 
which  I  have  every  reason  to  believe  is  sufficiently  correct, 
the  whole  expense  of  the  war,  and  the  support  of  the  several 

Post  office,  seizures,  wine  licences,  hackney  coaches,  etc.  250,000 
Annual  profits  from  lotteries  150,000 
Expense  of  collecting  the  excise  in  England  297,887 
Expense  of  collecting  the  customs  in  England  468,703 
Interest  of  loans  an  the  land  tax  at  4^.  expenses  of  collec- 
tion, militia,  etc.  250,000 
Perquisites,  etc.  to  custom-house  officers,  &c.  supposed  250,000 
Expense  of  collecting  the  salt  duties  in  England  10  I-2 

per  cent.  27,000 
Bounties  on  fish  exported  18,000 
Expense  of  collecting  the  duties  on  stamps,  cards,  adver- 
tisements, etc.  at  5  and  1-4  per  cent.  18,000 


Total  11,642,653/ 


310  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1780 


governments,  may  be  defrayed  for  two  million  pounds  ster- 
ling annually ;  which,  on  an  average,  is  thirteen  shillings  and 
four  pence  per  head,  men,  women,  and  children,  and  the 
peace  establishment  at  the  end  of  the  war  will  be  but  three 
quarters  of  a  million,  or  five  shillings  sterling  per  head.  Now, 
throwing  out  of  the  question  everything  of  honor,  principle, 
happiness,  freedom,  and  reputation  in  the  world,  and  taking 
it  up  on  the  simple  ground  of  interest,  I  put  the  following 
case : 

Suppose  Britain  was  to  conquer  America,  and,  as  a  con- 
queror, was  to  lay  her  under  no  other  conditions  than  to  pay 
the  same  proportion  towards  her  annual  revenue  which  the 
people  of  England  pay :  our  share,  in  that  case,  would  be 
six  million  pounds  sterling  yearly.  Can  it  then  be  a  ques- 
tion, whether  it  is  best  to  raise  two  millions  to  defend  the 
country,  and  govern  it  ourselves,  and  only  three  quarters  of 
a  million  afterwards,  or  pay  six  millions  to  have  it  conquered, 
and  let  the  enemy  govern  it  ? 

Can  it  be  supposed  that  conquerors  would  choose  to  put 
themselves  in  a  worse  condition  than  what  they  granted  to 
the  conquered  ?  In  England,  the  tax  on  rum  is  five  shillings 
and  one  penny  sterling  per  gallon,  which  is  one  silver  dollar 
and  fourteen  coppers.  Now  would  it  not  be  laughable  to 
imagine,  that  after  the  expense  they  have  been  at,  they 
would  let  either  whig  or  tory  drink  it  cheaper  than  them- 
selves? Coffee,  which  is  so  inconsiderable  an  article  of  con- 
sumption and  support  here,  is  there  loaded  with  a  duty  which 
makes  the  price  between  five  and  six  shillings  per  pound,  and 
a  penalty  of  fifty  pounds  sterling  on  any  person  detected  in 
roasting  it  in  his  own  house.  There  is  scarcely  a  necessary 
of  life  that  you  can  eat,  drink,  wear,  or  enjoy,  that  is  not 
there  loaded  with  a  tax  ;  even  the  light  from  heaven  is  only 
permitted  to  shine  into  their  dwellings  by  paying  eighteen 
pence  sterling  per  window  annually  ;  and  the  humblest  drink 
of  life,  small  beer,  cannot  there  be  purchased  without  a  tax 
of  nearly  two  coppers  per  gallon,  besides  a  heavy  tax  upon 
the  malt,  and  another  on  the  hops  before  it  is  brewed,  exclu- 
sive of  a  land-tax  on  the  earth  which  produces  them.  In 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


3" 


short,  the  condition  of  that  country,  in  point  of  taxation,  is 
so  oppressive,  the  number  of  her  poor  so  great,  and  the  ex- 
travagance and  rapaciousness  of  the  court  so  enormous,  that, 
were  they  to  effect  a  conquest  of  America,  it  is  then  only 
that  the  distresses  of  America  would  begin.  Neither  would 
it  signify  anything  to  a  man  whether  he  be  whig  or  tory. 
The  people  of  England,  and  the  ministry  of  that  country, 
know  us  by  no  such  distinctions.  What  they  want  is  clear, 
solid  revenue,  and  the  modes  which  they  would  take  to  pro- 
cure it,  would  operate  alike  on  all.  Their  manner  of  reason- 
ing would  be  short,  because  they  would  naturally  infer,  that 
if  we  were  able  to  carry  on  a  war  of  five  or  six  years  against 
them,  we  were  able  to  pay  the  same  taxes  which  they  do. 

I  have  already  stated  that  the  expense  of  conducting  the 
present  war,  and  the  government  of  the  several  states,  may 
be  done  for  two  millions  sterling,  and  the  establishment  in 
the  time  of  peace,  for  three  quarters  of  a  million.* 

As  to  navy  matters,  they  flourish  so  well,  and  are  so  well 
attended  to  by  individuals,  that  I  think  it  consistent  on 
every  principle  of  real  use  and  economy,  to  turn  the  navy 
into  hard  money  (keeping  only  three  or  four  packets)  and 
apply  it  to  the  service  of  the  army.  We  shall  not  have  a 
ship  the  less ;  the  use  of  them,  and  the  benefit  from  them, 
will  be  greatly  increased,  and  their  expense  saved.  We  are 
now  allied  with  a  formidable  naval  power,  from  whom  we 
derive  the  assistance  of  a  navy.  And  the  line  in  which  we 
can  prosecute  the  war,  so  as  to  reduce  the  common  enemy 
and  benefit  the  alliance  most  effectually,  will  be  by  attend- 
ing closely  to  the  land  service. 

I  estimate  the  charge  of  keeping  up  and  maintaining  an 
army,  officering  them,  and  all  expenses  included,  sufficient 
for  the  defence  of  the  country,  to  be  equal  to  the  expense 
of  forty  thousand  men  at  thirty  pounds  sterling  per  head, 
which  is  one  million  two  hundred  thousand  pounds. 

*  I  have  made  the  calculations  in  sterling,  because  it  is  a  rate  generally  known 
in  all  the  states,  and  because,  likewise,  it  admits  of  an  easy  comparison  between 
our  expenses  to  support  the  war,  and  those  of  the  enemy.  Four  silver  dollars 
and  a  half  is  one  pound  sterling,  and  three  pence  over. — Author. 


312  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [178° 


I  likewise  allow  four  hundred  thousand  pounds  for  conti- 
nental expenses  at  home  and  abroad. 

And  four  hundred  thousand  pounds  for  the  support  of  the 
several  state  governments — the  amount  will  then  be : 

For  the  army  1,200,000/. 
Continental  expenses  at  home  and  abroad  400,000 
Government  of  the  several  states  400,000 

Total  2,000,000/. 

I  take  the  proportion  of  this  state,  Pennsylvania,  to  be  an 
eighth  part  of  the  thirteen  United  States ;  the  quota  then 
for  us  to  raise  will  be  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds 
sterling ;  two  hundred  thousand  of  which  will  be  our  share 
for  the  support  and  pay  of  the  army,  and  continental  ex- 
penses at  home  and  abroad,  and  fifty  thousand  pounds  for 
the  support  of  the  state  government. 

In  order  to  gain  an  idea  of  the  proportion  in  which  the 
raising  such  a  sum  will  fall,  I  make  the  following  calculation. 

Pennsylvania  contains  three  hundred  and  seventy-five 
thousand  inhabitants,  men,  women  and  children ;  which  is 
likewise  an  eighth  of  the  number  of  inhabitants  of  the  whole 
United  States :  therefore,  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
pounds  sterling  to  be  raised  among  three  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-five thousand  persons,  is,  on  an  average,  thirteen  shill- 
ings and  four  pence  per  head,  per  annum,  or  something 
more  than  one  shilling  sterling  per  month.  And  our  pro- 
portion of  three  quarters  of  a  million  for  the  government  of 
the  country,  in  time  of  peace,  will  be  ninety-three  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  sterling ;  fifty  thousand  of 
which  will  be  for  the  government  expenses  of  the  state,  and 
forty-three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  for 
continental  expenses  at  home  and  abroad. 

The  peace  establishment  then  will,  on  an  average,  be  five 
shillings  sterling  per  head.  Whereas,  was  England  now  to 
stop,  and  the  war  cease,  her  peace  establishment  would  con- 
tinue the  same  as  it  is  now,  viz.  forty  shillings  per  head ; 
therefore  was  our  taxes  necessary  for  carrying  on  the  war. 


1780]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  313 


as  much  per  head  as  hers  now  is,  and  the  difference  to  be 
only  whether  we  should,  at  the  end  of  the  war,  pay  at  the 
rate  of  five  shillings  per  head,  or  forty  shillings  per  head,  the 
case  needs  no  thinking  of.  But  as  we  can  securely  defend 
and  keep  the  country  for  one  third  less  than  what  our  bur- 
den would  be  if  it  was  conquered,  and  support  the  govern- 
ments afterwards  for  one  eighth  of  what  Britain  would  levy 
on  us,  and  could  I  find  a  miser  whose  heart  never  felt  the 
emotion  of  a  spark  of  principle,  even  that  man,  uninfluenced 
by  every  love  but  the  love  of  money,  and  capable  of  no 
attachment  but  to  his  interest,  would  and  must,  from  the 
frugality  which  governs  him,  contribute  to  the  defence  of 
the  country,  or  he  ceases  to  be  a  miser  and  becomes  an 
idiot.  But  when  we  take  in  with  it  every  thing  that  can 
ornament  mankind ;  when  the  line  of  our  interest  becomes 
the  line  of  our  happiness ;  when  all  that  can  cheer  and  ani- 
mate the  heart,  when  a  sense  of  honor,  fame,  character,  at 
home  and  abroad,  are  interwoven  not  only  with  the  security 
but  the  increase  of  property,  there  exists  not  a  man  in 
America,  unless  he  be  an  hired  emissary,  who  does  not  see 
that  his  good  is  connected  with  keeping  up  a  sufficient 
defence. 

I  do  not  imagine  that  an  instance  can  be  produced  in  the 
world,  of  a  country  putting  herself  to  such  an  amazing 
charge  to  conquer  and  enslave  another,  as  Britain  has  done. 
The  sum  is  too  great  for  her  to  think  of  with  any  tolerable 
degree  of  temper ;  and  when  we  consider  the  burden  she 
sustains,  as  well  as  the  disposition  she  has  shown,  it  would 
be  the  height  of  folly  in  us  to  suppose  that  she  would  not 
reimburse  herself  by  the  most  rapid  means,  had  she  America 
once  more  within  her  power.  With  such  an  oppression  of 
expense,  what  would  an  empty  conquest  be  to  her!  What 
relief  under  such  circumstances  could  she  derive  from  a 
victory  without  a  prize  ?  It  was  money,  it  was  revenue  she 
first  went  to  war  for,  and  nothing  but  tJiat  would  satisfy 
her.  It  is  not  the  nature  of  avarice  to  be  satisfied  with  any 
thing  else.  Every  passion  that  acts  upon  mankind  has  a 
peculiar  mode  of  operation.    Many  of  them  are  temporary 


314  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1780 


and  fluctuating;  they  admit  of  cessation  and  variety.  But 
avarice  is  a  fixed,  uniform  passion.  It  neither  abates  of  its 
vigor  nor  changes  its  object ;  and  the  reason  why  it  does 
not,  is  founded  in  the  nature  of  things,  for  wealth  has  not  a 
rival  where  avarice  is  a  ruling  passion.  One  beauty  may 
excel  another,  and  extinguish  from  the  mind  of  man  the 
pictured  remembrance  of  a  former  one :  but  wealth  is  the 
phoenix  of  avarice,  and  therefore  it  cannot  seek  a  new 
object,  because  there  is  not  another  in  the  world. 

I  now  pass  on  to  show  the  value  of  the  present  taxes,  and 
compare  them  with  the  annual  expense ;  but  this  I  shall 
preface  with  a  few  explanatory  remarks. 

There  are  two  distinct  things  which  make  the  payment  of 
taxes  difificult ;  the  one  is  the  large  and  real  value  of  the 
sum  to  be  paid,  and  the  other  is  the  scarcity  of  the  thing  in 
which  the  payment  is  to  be  made ;  and  although  these  ap- 
pear to  be  one  and  the  same,  they  are  in  several  instances 
not  only  different,  but  the  difificulty  springs  from  different 
causes. 

Suppose  a  tax  to  be  laid  equal  to  one  half  of  what  a  man's 
yearly  income  is,  such  a  tax  could  not  be  paid,  because  the 
property  could  not  be  spared  ;  and  on  the  other  hand,  sup- 
pose a  very  trifling  tax  was  laid,  to  be  collected  in  pearls, 
such  a  tax  likewise  could  not  be  paid,  because  they  could 
not  be  had.  Now  any  person  may  see  that  these  are  dis- 
tinct cases,  and  the  latter  of  them  is  a  representation  of  our 
own. 

That  the  difficulty  cannot  proceed  from  the  former,  that 
is,  from  the  real  value  or  weight  of  the  tax,  is  evident  at  the 
first  view  to  any  person  who  will  consider  it. 

The  amount  of  the  quota  of  taxes  for  this  state  for  the 
year,  1780,  (and  so  in  proportion  for  every  other  state,)  is 
twenty  millions  of  dollars,  which  at  seventy  for  one,'  is  but 
sixty-four  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty  pounds  three 
shillings  sterling,  and  on  an  average,  is  no  more  than  three 
shillings  and  five  pence  sterling  per  head,  per  annum,  per 
man,  woman  and  child,  or  threepence  two-fifths  per  head  per 

'  The  depreciation  of  Pennsylvania  currency. — Editor. 


1780]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  315 


month.  Now  here  is  a  clear,  positive  fact,  that  cannot  be 
contradicted,  and  which  proves  that  the  difficulty  cannot  be 
in  the  weight  of  the  tax,  for  in  itself  it  is  a  trifle,  and  far 
from  being  adequate  to  our  quota  of  the  expense  of  the  war. 
The  quit-rents  of  one  penny  sterling  per  acre  on  only  one 
half  of  the  state,  come  to  upwards  of  fifty  thousand  pounds, 
which  is  almost  as  much  as  all  the  taxes  of  the  present  year, 
and  as  those  quit-rents  made  no  part  of  the  taxes  then  paid, 
and  are  now  discontinued,  the  quantity  of  money  drawn 
for  public  service  this  year,  exclusive  of  the  militia  fines, 
which  I  shall  take  notice  of  in  the  process  of  this  work,  is 
less  than  what  was  paid  and  payable  in  any  year  preceding 
the  revolution,  and  since  the  last  war ;  what  I  mean  is,  that 
the  quit-rents  and  taxes  taken  together  came  to  a  larger 
sum  then,  than  the  present  taxes  without  the  quit-rents  do 
now. 

My  intention  by  these  arguments  and  calculations  is  to 
place  the  difficulty  to  the  right  cause,  and  show  that  it  does 
not  proceed  from  the  weight  or  worth  of  the  tax,  but  from 
the  scarcity  of  the  medium  in  which  it  is  paid  ;  and  to  illus- 
trate this  point  still  further,  I  shall  now  show,  that  if  the 
tax  of  twenty  millions  of  dollars  was  of  four  times  the  real 
value  it  now  is,  or  nearly  so,  which  would  be  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  pounds  sterling,  and  would  be  our 
full  quota,  this  sum  would  have  been  raised  with  more  ease, 
and  have  been  less  felt,  than  the  present  sum  of  only  sixty- 
four  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty  pounds. 

The  convenience  or  inconvenience  of  paying  a  tax  in 
money  arises  from  the  quantity  of  money  that  can  be  spared 
out  of  trade. 

When  the  emissions  stopped,  the  continent  was  left  in 
possession  of  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  perhaps  as 
equally  dispersed  as  it  was  possible  for  trade  to  do  it.  And 
as  no  more  was  to  be  issued,  the  rise  or  fall  of  prices  could 
neither  increase  nor  diminish  the  quantity.  It  therefore 
remained  the  same  through  all  the  fluctuations  of  trade  and 
exchange. 

Now  had  the  exchange  stood  at  twenty  for  one,  which 


3 1 6  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [17S0 


was  the  rate  congress  calculated  upon  when  they  arranged 
the  quota  of  the  several  states,  the  latter  end  of  last  year, 
trade  would  have  been  carried  on  for  nearly  four  times  less 
money  than  it  is  now,  and  consequently  the  twenty  millions 
would  have  been  spared  with  much  greater  ease,  and  when 
collected  would  have  been  of  almost  four  times  the  value 
that  they  now  are.  And  on  the  other  hand,  was  the  depre- 
ciation to  be  ninety  or  one  hundred  for  one,  the  quantity 
required  for  trade  would  be  more  than  at  sixty  or  seventy 
for  one,  and  though  the  value  of  them  would  be  less,  the 
difificulty  of  sparing  the  money  out  of  trade  would  be 
greater.  And  on  these  facts  and  arguments  I  rest  the 
matter,  to  prove  that  it  is  not  the  want  of  property,  but  the 
scarcity  of  the  medium  by  which  the  proportion  of  property 
for  taxation  is  to  be  measured  out,  that  makes  the  embar- 
rassment which  we  lie  under.  There  is  not  money  enough, 
and,  what  is  equally  as  true,  the  people  will  not  let  there  be 
money  enough. 

While  I  am  on  the  subject  of  the  currency,  I  shall  offer 
one  remark  which  will  appear  true  to  everybody,  and  can 
be  accounted  for  by  nobody,  which  is,  that  the  better  the 
times  were,  the  worse  the  money  grew ;  and  the  worse  the 
times  were,  the  better  the  money  stood.  It  never  depre- 
ciated by  any  advantage  obtained  by  the  enemy.  The 
troubles  of  1776,  and  the  loss  of  Philadelphia  in  1777,  made 
no  sensible  impression  on  it,  and  every  one  knows  that  the 
surrender  of  Charleston  did  not  produce  the  least  alteration 
in  the  rate  of  exchange,  which,  for  long  before,  and  for  more 
than  three  months  after,  stood  at  sixty  for  one.  It  seems  as 
if  the  certainty  of  its  being  our  own,  made  us  careless  of  its 
value,  and  that  the  most  distant  thoughts  of  losing  it  made 
us  hug  it  the  closer,  like  something  we  were  loth  to  part  with  ; 
or  that  we  depreciate  it  for  our  pastime,  which,  when  called 
to  seriousness  by  the  enemy,  we  leave  off  to  renew  again  at 
our  leisure.  In  short,  our  good  luck  seems  to  break  us,  and 
our  bad  makes  us  whole. 

Passing  on  from  this  digression,  I  shall  now  endeavor 
to  bring  into  one  view  the  several  parts  which  I  have 


1780] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


already  stated,  and  form  thereon  some  propositions,  and 
conclude. 

I  have  placed  before  the  reader,  the  average  tax  per  head, 
paid  by  the  people  of  England  ;  which  is  forty  shillings  sterling. 

And  I  have  shown  the  rate  on  an  average  per  head,  which 
will  defray  all  the  expenses  of  the  war  to  us,  and  support 
the  several  governments  without  running  the  country  into 
debt,  which  is  thirteen  shillings  and  four  pence. 

I  have  shown  what  the  peace  establishment  may  be  con- 
ducted for,  viz.  an  eighth  part  of  what  it  would  be,  if  under 
the  government  of  Britain. 

And  I  have  likewise  shown  what  the  average  per  head 
of  the  present  taxes  is,  namely,  three  shillings  and  fivepence 
sterling,  or  threepence  two-fifths  per  month  ;  and  that  their 
whole  yearly  value,  in  sterling,  is  only  sixty-four  thousand 
two  hundred  and  eighty  pounds.  Whereas  our  quota,  to 
keep  the  payments  equal  with  the  expenses,  is  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  pounds.  Consequently,  there  is  a  defi- 
ciency of  one  hundred  and  eighty-five  thousand  seven  hun- 
dred and  twenty  pounds,  and  the  same  proportion  of  defect, 
according  to  the  several  quotas,  happens  in  every  other 
state.  And  this  defect  is  the  cause  why  the  army  has  been 
so  indifferently  fed,  clothed  and  paid.  It  is  the  cause,  like- 
wise, of  the  nerveless  state  of  the  campaign,  and  the  in- 
security of  the  country.  Now,  if  a  tax  equal  to  thirteen  and 
fourpence  per  head,  will  remove  all  these  difficulties,  and 
make  people  secure  in  their  homes,  leave  them  to  follow  the 
business  of  their  stores  and  farms  unmolested,  and  not  only 
drive  out  but  keep  out  the  enemy  from  the  country  ;  and  if 
the  neglect  of  raising  this  sum  will  let  them  in,  and  produce 
the  evils  which  might  be  prevented — on  which  side,  I  ask, 
does  the  wisdom,  interest  and  policy  lie  ?  Or,  rather,  would 
it  not  be  an  insult  to  reason,  to  put  the  question  ?  The  sum, 
when  proportioned  out  according  to  the  several  abilities  of 
the  people,  can  hurt  no  one,  but  an  inroad  from  the  enemy 
ruins  hundreds  of  families. 

Look  at  the  destruction  done  in  this  city  [Philadelphia]. 
The  many  houses  totally  destroyed,  and  others  damaged 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1780 


the  waste  of  fences  in  the  country  round  it,  besides  the 
plunder  of  furniture,  forage,  and  provisions.  I  do  not  sup- 
pose that  half  a  million  sterling  would  reinstate  the  suffer- 
ers ;  and,  does  this,  I  ask,  bear  any  proportion  to  the 
expense  that  would  make  us  secure?  The  damage,  on  an 
average,  is  at  least  ten  pounds  sterling  per  head,  which  is  as 
much  as  thirteen  shillings  and  fourpence  per  head  comes  to 
for  fifteen  years.  The  same  has  happened  on  the  frontiers, 
and  in  the  Jerseys,  New-York,  and  other  places  where  the 
enemy  has  been — Carolina  and  Georgia  are  likewise  suffer- 
ing the  same  fate. 

That  the  people  generally  do  not  understand  the  insufifi- 
ciency  of  the  taxes  to  carry  on  the  war,  is  evident,  not  only 
from  common  observation,  but  from  the  construction  of 
several  petitions  which  were  presented  to  the  Assembly  of 
this  state,  against  the  recommendation  of  Congress  of  the 
1 8th  of  March  last,  for  taking  up  and  funding  the  present 
currency  at  forty  to  one,  and  issuing  new  money  in  its 
stead.  The  prayer  of  the  petition  was,  that  the  currency 
might  be  appreciated  by  taxes  (meaning  the  present  taxes) 
and  that  part  of  the  taxes  be  applied  to  the  support  of  the 
army,  if  the  army  could  not  be  otherwise  supported.  Now  it 
could  not  have  been  possible  for  such  a  petition  to  have 
been  presented,  had  the  petitioners  known,  that  so  far  from 
part  of  the  taxes  being  sufficient  for  the  support  of  the 
army,  the  whole  of  them  falls  three-fourths  short  of  the  year's 
expenses. 

Before  I  proceed  to  propose  methods  by  which  a  sufficiency 
of  money  may  be  raised,  I  shall  take  a  short  view  of  the 
general  state  of  the  country. 

Notwithstanding  the  weight  of  the  war,  the  ravages  of  the 
enemy,  and  the  obstructions  she  has  thrown  in  the  way  of 
trade  and  commerce,  so  soon  does  a  young  country  outgrow 
misfortune,  that  America  has  already  surmounted  many  that 
heavily  oppressed  her.  For  the  first  year  or  two  of  the  war, 
we  were  shut  up  within  our  ports,  scarce  venturing  to  look 
towards  the  ocean.  Now  our  rivers  are  beautified  with  large 
and  valuable  vessels,  our  stores  filled  with  merchandize,  and 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


3'9 


the  produce  of  the  country  has  a  ready  market,  and  an 
advantageous  price.  Gold  and  silver,  that  for  a  while  seemed 
to  have  retreated  again  within  the  bowels  of  the  earth,  have 
once  more  risen  into  circulation,  and  every  day  adds  new 
strength  to  trade,  commerce  and  agriculture.  In  a  pam- 
phlet, written  by  Sir  John  Dalrymple,  and  dispersed  in 
America  in  the  year  1775,  he  asserted  that  tzvo  twenty-gun 
ships,  nay,  says  he,  tenders  of  those  ships,  stationed  between 
Albermarle  sound  and  Chesapeake  bay,  would  shut  up  the 
trade  of  America  for  600  miles.  How  little  did  Sir  John 
Dalrymple  know  of  the  abilities  of  America ! 

While  under  the  government  of  Britain,  the  trade  of  this 
country  was  loaded  with  restrictions.  It  was  only  a  few 
foreign  ports  which  we  were  allowed  to  sail  to.  Now  it  is 
otherwise  ;  and  allowing  that  the  quantity  of  trade  is  but 
half  what  it  was  before  the  war,  the  case  must  show  the  vast 
advantage  of  an  open  trade,  because  the  present  quantity 
under  her  restrictions  could  not  support  itself ;  from  which 
I  infer,  that  if  half  the  quantity  without  the  restrictions  can 
bear  itself  up  nearly,  if  not  quite,  as  well  as  the  whole  when 
subject  to  them,  how  prosperous  must  the  condition  of 
America  be  when  the  whole  shall  return  open  with  all  the 
world.  By  the  trade  I  do  not  mean  the  employment  of  a 
merchant  only,  but  the  whole  interest  and  business  of  the 
country  taken  collectively. 

It  is  not  so  much  my  intention,  by  this  publication,  to 
propose  particular  plans  for  raising  money,  as  it  is  to  show 
the  necessity  and  the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  it.  My 
principal  design  is  to  form  the  disposition  of  the  people  to 
the  measures  which  I  am  fully  persuaded  it  is  their  interest 
and  duty  to  adopt,  and  which  need  no  other  force  to  ac- 
complish them  than  the  force  of  being  felt.  But  as  every 
hint  may  be  useful,  I  shall  throw  out  a  sketch,  and  leave 
others  to  make  such  improvements  upon  it  as  to  them  may 
appear  reasonable. 

The  annual  sum  wanted  is  two  millions,  and  the  average 
rate  in  which  it  falls,  is  thirteen  shillings  and  fourpence  per 
head. 


320 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


Suppose,  then,  that  we  raise  half  the  sum  and  sixty  thou- 
sand pounds  over.  The  average  rate  thereof  will  be  seven 
shillings  per  head. 

In  this  case  we  shall  have  half  the  supply  that  we  want^ 
and  an  annual  fund  of  sixty  thousand  pounds  whereon  to 
borrow  the  other  million  ;  because  sixty  thousand  pounds  is 
the  interest  of  a  million  at  six  per  cent. ;  and  if  at  the  end 
of  another  year  we  should  be  obliged,  by  the  continuance  of 
the  war,  to  borrow  another  million,  the  taxes  will  be  in- 
creased to  seven  shillings  and  sixpence ;  and  thus  for  every 
million  borrowed,  an  additional  tax,  equal  to  sixpence  per 
head,  must  be  levied. 

The  sum  to  be  raised  next  year  will  be  one  million  and 
sixty  thousand  pounds:  one  half  of  which  I  would  propose 
should  be  raised  by  duties  on  imported  goods,  and  prize 
goods,  and  the  other  half  by  a  tax  on  landed  property  and 
houses,  or  such  other  means  as  each  state  may  devise. 

But  as  the  duties  on  imports  and  prize  goods  must  be  the 
same  in  all  the  states,  therefore  the  rate  per  cent.,  or  what 
other  form  the  duty  shall  be  laid,  must  be  ascertained  and 
regulated  by  congress,  and  ingrafted  in  that  form  into  the 
law  of  each  state  ;  and  the  monies  arising  therefrom  carried 
into  the  treasury  of  each  state.  The  duties  to  be  paid  in 
gold  or  silver. 

There  are  many  reasons  why  a  duty  on  imports  is  the  most 
convenient  duty  or  tax  that  can  be  collected ;  one  of  which 
is,  because  the  whole  is  payable  in  a  few  places  in  a  country, 
and  it  likewise  operates  with  the  greatest  ease  and  equality, 
because  as  every  one  pays  in  proportion  to  what  he  con- 
sumes, so  people  in  general  consume  in  proportion  to  what 
they  can  afford ;  and  therefore  the  tax  is  regulated  by  the 
abilities  which  every  man  supposes  himself  to  have,  or  in 
other  words,  every  man  becomes  his  own  assessor,  and  pays 
by  a  little  at  a  time,  when  it  suits  him  to  buy.  Besides,  it 
is  a  tax  which  people  may  pay  or  let  alone  by  not  consum- 
ing the  articles ;  and  though  the  alternative  may  have  no 
influence  on  their  conduct,  the  power  of  choosing  is  an 
agreeable  thing  to  the  mind.    For  my  own  part,  it  would  be 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


321 


a  satisfaction  to  me  was  there  a  duty  on  all  sorts. of  liquors 
during  the  war,  as  in  my  idea  of  things  it  would  be  an  addi- 
tion to  the  pleasures  of  society  to  know,  that  when  the 
health  of  the  army  goes  round,  a  few  drops  from  every 
glass  becomes  theirs.  How  often  have  I  heard  an  em- 
phatical  wish,  almost  accompanied  by  a  tear,  "Oh,  that  our 
poor  fellows  in  the  field  had  some  of  this  !  "  Why  then  need 
we  suffer  under  a  fruitless  sympathy,  when  there  is  a  way 
to  enjoy  both  the  wish  and  the  entertainment  at  once. 

But  the  great  national  policy  of  putting  a  duty  upon  im- 
ports is,  that  it  either  keeps  the  foreign  trade  in  our  own 
hands,  or  draws  something  for  the  defence  of  the  country 
from  every  foreigner  who  participates  it  with  us. 

Thus  much  for  the  first  half  of  the  taxes,  and  as  each  state 
will  best  devise  means  to  raise  the  other  half,  I  shall  confine 
my  remarks  to  the  resources  of  this  state. 

The  quota,  then,  of  this  state,  of  one  million  and  sixty 
thousand  pounds,  will  be  one  hundred  and  thirty-three 
thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds,  the  half  of  which 
is  sixty-six  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  ; 
and  supposing  one  fourth  part  of  Pennsylvania  inhabited, 
then  a  tax  of  one  bushel  of  wheat  on  every  twenty  acres  of 
land,  one  with  another,  would  produce  the  sum,  and  all  the 
present  taxes  to  cease.  Whereas,  the  tithes  of  the  bishops 
and  clergy  in  England,  exclusive  of  the  taxes,  are  upwards 
of  half  a  bushel  of  wheat  on  everj/  sitigle  acre  of  land,  good 
and  bad,  throughout  the  nation. 

In  the  former  part  of  this  paper,  I  mentioned  the  militia 
fines,  but  reserved  speaking  to  the  matter,  which  I  shall 
now  do.  The  ground  I  shall  put  it  upon  is,  that  two  mil- 
lions sterling  a  year  will  support  a  sufficient  army,  and  all 
the  expenses  of  war  and  government,  without  having  re- 
course to  the  inconvenient  method  of  continually  calling 
men  from  their  employments,  which,  of  all  others,  is  the 
most  expensive  and  the  least  substantial.  I  consider  the 
revenues  created  by  taxes  as  the  first  and  principal  thing, 
and  fines  only  as  secondary  and  accidental  things.  It  was 
not  the  intention  of  the  militia  law  to  apply  the  fines  to  any- 

VOL.  I. — 21 


322  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1780 


thing  else  but  the  support  of  the  militia,  neither  do  they 
produce  any  revenue  to  the  state,  yet  these  fines  amount  to 
more  than  all  the  taxes  :  for  taking  the  muster-roll  to  be 
sixty  thousand  men,  the  fine  on  forty  thousand  who  may 
not  attend,  will  be  sixty  thousand  pounds  sterling,  and  those 
who  muster,  will  give  up  a  portion  of  time  equal  to  half  that 
sum,  and  if  the  eight  classes  should  be  called  within  the  year, 
and  one  third  turn  out,  the  fine  on  the  remaining  forty  thou- 
sand would  amount  to  seventy-two  millions  of  dollars, 
besides  the  fifteen  shillings  on  every  hundred  pounds  of 
property,  and  the  charge  of  seven  and  a  half  per  cent,  for 
collecting,  in  certain  instances  which,  on  the  whole,  would 
be  upwards  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  pounds 
sterling. 

Now  if  those  very  fines  disable  the  country  from  raising  a 
sufificient  revenue  without  producing  an  equivalent  advan- 
tage, would  it  not  be  for  the  ease  and  interest  of  all  parties 
to  increase  the  revenue,  in  the  manner  I  have  proposed,  or 
any  better,  if  a  better  can  be  devised,  and  cease  the  opera- 
tion of  the  fines  ?  I  would  still  keep  the  militia  as  an 
organized  body  of  men,  and  should  there  be  a  real  necessity 
to  call  them  forth,  pay  them  out  of  the  proper  revenues  of 
the  state,  and  increase  the  taxes  a  third  or  fourth  per  cent, 
on  those  who  do  not  attend.  My  limits  will  not  allow  me 
to  go  further  into  this  matter,  which  I  shall  therefore  close 
with  this  remark  ;  that  fines  are,  of  all  modes  of  revenue, 
the  most  unsuited  to  the  minds  of  a  free  country.  When 
a  man  pays  a  tax,  he  knows  that  the  public  necessity  re- 
quires it,  and  therefore  feels  a  pride  in  discharging  his 
duty  ;  but  a  fine  seems  an  atonement  for  neglect  of  duty, 
and  of  consequence  is  paid  with  discredit,  and  frequently 
levied  with  severity. 

I  have  now  only  one  subject  more  to  speak  of,  with  which 
I  shall  conclude,  which  is,  the  resolve  of  congress  of  the  i8th 
of  March  last,  for  taking  up  and  funding  the  present  currency 
at  forty  for  one,  and  issuing  new  money  in  its  stead. 

Every  one  knows  that  I  am  not  the  flatterer  of  congress, 
but  in  this  instance  they  are  right ;  and  if  that  measure  is 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS, 


supported,  the  currency  will  acquire  a  value,  which,  without 
it,  it  will  not.  But  this  is  not  all :  it  will  give  relief  to  the 
finances  until  such  time  as  they  can  be  properly  arranged, 
and  save  the  country  from  being  immediately  double  taxed 
under  the  present  mode.  In  short,  support  that  measure, 
and  it  will  support  you. 

I  have  now  waded  through  a  tedious  course  of  difficult 
business,  and  over  an  untrodden  path.  The  subject,  on 
every  point  in  which  it  could  be  viewed,  was  entangled  with 
perplexities,  and  enveloped  in  obscurity,  yet  such  are  the  re- 
sources of  America,  that  she  wants  nothing  but  system  to 
secure  success. 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  Oct.  6,  1780. 

THE  CRISIS. 
X. 

ON  THE  KING  OF  ENGLAND'S  SPEECH.' 

Of  all  the  innocent  passions  which  actuate  the  human 
mind  there  is  none  more  universally  prevalent  than  curi- 
osity. It  reaches  all  mankind,  and  in  matters  which  con- 
cern us,  or  concern  us  not,  it  alike  provokes  in  us  a  desire  to 
know  them. 

Although  the  situation  of  America,  superior  to  every  effort 
to  enslave  her,  and  daily  rising  to  importance  and  opulence, 
hath  placed  her  above  the  region  of  anxiety,  it  has  still  left 
her  within  the  circle  of  curiosity;  and  her  fancy  to  see 
the  speech  of  a  man  who  had  proudly  threatened  to  bring 
her  to  his  feet,  was  visibly  marked  with  that  tranquil  con- 
fidence which  cared  nothing  about  its  contents.  It  was 
inquired  after  with  a  smile,  read  with  a  laugh,  and  dismissed 
with  disdain. 

'  At  the  opening  of  Parliament,  November  27,  1781.  After  the  surrender  of 
Comwallis,  and  the  resignation  of  Lord  North,  the  King,  in  a  letter  to  North 
{April  21,  1782),  describes  himself  as  "  a  mind  truely  tore  to  pieces." — Editor. 


324 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1782 


But,  as  justice  is  due,  even  to  an  enemy,  it  is  right  to  say^ 
that  the  speech  is  as  well  managed  as  the  embarrassed  con- 
dition of  their  affairs  could  well  admit  of;  and  though 
hardly  a  line  of  it  is  true,  except  the  mournful  story  of 
Cornwallis,  it  may  serve  to  amuse  the  deluded  commons 
and  people  of  England,  for  whom  it  was  calculated. 

"The  war,"  says  the  speech,  "  is  still  unhappily  prolonged 
by  that  restless  ambition  which  first  excited  our  enemies  to 
commence  it,  and  which  still  continues  to  disappoint  my 
earnest  wishes  and  diligent  exertions  to  restore  the  public 
tranquillity." 

How  easy  it  is  to  abuse  truth  and  language,  when  men, 
by  habitual  wickedness,  have  learned  to  set  justice  at  defi- 
ance. That  the  very  man  who  began  the  war,  who  with  the 
most  sullen  insolence  refused  to  answer,  and  even  to  hear 
the  humblest  of  all  petitions,  who  hath  encouraged  his 
ofificers  and  his  army  in  the  most  savage  cruelties,  and  the 
most  scandalous  plunderings,  who  hath  stirred  up  the 
Indians  on  one  side,  and  the  negroes  on  the  other,  and 
invoked  every  aid  of  hell  in  his  behalf,  should  now,  with  an 
affected  air  of  pity,  turn  the  tables  from  himself,  and  charge 
to  another  the  wickedness  that  is  his  own,  can  only  be 
equalled  by  the  baseness  of  the  heart  that  spoke  it. 

To  be  nobly  wrong  is  more  manly  than  to  be  meanly  right y 
is  an  expression  I  once  used  on  a  former  occasion,'  and  it  is 
equally  applicable  now.  We  feel  something  like  respect  for 
consistency  even  in  error.  We  lament  the  virtue  that  is 
debauched  into  a  vice,  but  the  vice  that  affects  a  virtue 
becomes  the  more  detestable :  and  amongst  the  various 
assumptions  of  character,  which  hypocrisy  has  taught,  and 
men  have  practised,  there  is  none  that  raises  a  higher  relish 
of  disgust,  than  to  see  disappointed  inveteracy  twisting  it- 
self, by  the  most  visible  falsehoods,  into  an  appearance  of 
piety  which  it  has  no  pretensions  to. 

"  But  I  should  not,"  continues  the  speech,  "  answer  the  trust 
committed  to  the  sovereign  of  a  free  people^  nor  make  a  suitable 

'  Opening  sentence  of  "  The  Forester's  "  first  letter  to  "  Cato." — Editor. 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


return  to  my  subjects  for  their  constant,  zealous,  and  affectionate 
attachment  to  my  person,  family  and  government,  if  I  consented 
to  sacrifice,  either  to  my  own  desire  of  peace,  or  to  their  tempo- 
rary ease  and  relief,  those  essential  rights  and  permanent  interests, 
upon  the  maintenance  and  preservation  of  which,  the  future 
strength  and  security  of  this  country  must  principally  depend." 

That  the  man  whose  ignorance  and  obstinacy  first  in- 
volved and  still  continues  the  nation  in  the  most  hopeless 
and  expensive  of  all  wars,  should  now  meanly  flatter  them 
with  the  name  of  a  free  people,  and  make  a  merit  of  his 
crime,  under  the  disguise  of  their  essential  rights  and  per- 
manent interests,  is  something  which  disgraces  even  the 
character  of  perverseness.  Is  he  afraid  they  will  send  him 
to  Hanover,  or  what  does  he  fear?  Why  is  the  sycophant 
thus  added  to  the  hypocrite,  and  the  man  who  pretends 
to  govern,  sunk  into  the  humble  and  submissive  memo- 
rialist ? 

What  those  essential  rights  and  permanent  interests  are, 
on  which  the  future  strength  and  security  of  England  must 
principally  depend,  are  not  so  much  as  alluded  to.  They  are 
words  which  impress  nothing  but  the  ear,  and  are  calculated 
only  for  the  sound. 

But  if  they  have  any  reference  to  America,  then  do  they 
amount  to  the  disgraceful  confession,  that  England,  who 
once  assumed  to  be  her  protectress,  has  now  become  her 
dependant.  The  British  king  and  ministry  are  constantly 
holding  up  the  vast  importance  which  America  is  of  to  Eng- 
land, in  order  to  allure  the  nation  to  carry  on  the  war :  now, 
whatever  ground  there  is  for  this  idea,  it  ought  to  have 
•operated  as  a  reason  for  not  beginning  it ;  and,  therefore, 
they  support  their  present  measures  to  their  own  disgrace, 
because  the  arguments  which  they  now  use,  are  a  direct 
reflection  on  their  former  policy. 

"  The  favorable  appearance  of  affairs,"  continues  the 
speech,  "  in  the  East  Indies,  and  the  safe  arrival  of  the 
numerous  commercial  fleets  of  my  kingdom,  must  have 
given  you  satisfaction." 


326  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1782 


That  things  are  not  quite  so  bad  every  where  as  in 
America  may  be  some  cause  of  consolation,  but  can  be  none 
for  triumph.  One  broken  leg  is  better  than  two,  but  still  it 
is  not  a  source  of  joy :  and  let  the  appearance  of  affairs  in 
the  East  Indies  be  ever  so  favorable,  they  are  nevertheless 
worse  than  at  first,  without  a  prospect  of  their  ever  being 
better.  But  the  mournful  story  of  Cornwallis  was  yet  to  be 
told,  and  it  was  necessary  to  give  it  the  softest  introduction 
possible. 

"  But  in  the  course  of  this  year,"  continues  the  speech, 
"my  assiduous  endeavors  to  guard  the  extensive  dominions 
of  my  crown  have  not  been  attended  with  success  equal  to 
the  justice  and  uprightness  of  my  views." — What  justice  and 
uprightness  there  was  in  beginning  a  war  with  America,  the 
world  will  judge  of,  and  the  unequalled  barbarity  with  which 
it  has  been  conducted,  is  not  to  be  worn  from  the  memory 
by  the  cant  of  snivelling  hypocrisy. 

"  And  it  is  with  great  concern  that  I  inform  you  that  the 
events  of  war  have  been  very  unfortunate  to  my  arms  in 
Virginia,  having  ended  in  the  loss  of  my  forces  in  that  prov- 
ince."— And  our  great  concern  is  that  they  are  not  all  served 
in  the  same  manner. 

"  No  endeavors  have  been  wanting  on  my  part,"  says  the 
speech,  "  to  extinguish  that  spirit  of  rebellion  which  our  enemies 
have  found  means  to  foment  and  maintain  in  the  colonies  ;  and  to 
restore  to  my  deluded  subjects  in  America  that  happy  and  pros- 
perous condition  which  they  formerly  derived  from  a  due  obedi- 
ence to  the  laws." 

The  expression  of  deluded  subjects  is  become  so  hacknied 
and  contemptible,  and  the  more  so  when  we  see  them  mak- 
ing prisoners  of  whole  armies  at  a  time,  that  the  pride  of  not 
being  laughed  at  would  induce  a  man  of  common  sense  to 
leave  it  off.  But  the  most  offensive  falsehood  in  the  para- 
graph is  the  attributing  the  prosperity  of  America  to  a 
wrong  cause.  It  was  the  unremitted  industry  of  the  settlers 
and  their  descendants,  the  hard  labor  and  toil  of  persevering 
fortitude,  that  were  the  true  causes  of  the  prosperity  of 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


America.  The  former  tyranny  of  England  served  to  people 
it,  and  the  virtue  of  the  adventurers  to  improve  it.  Ask 
the  man,  who,  with  his  axe,  hath  cleared  away  in  the  wilder- 
ness, and  now  possesses  an  estate,  what  made  him  rich,  and 
he  will  tell  you  the  labor  of  his  hands,  the  sweat  of  his  brow, 
and  the  blessing  of  heaven.  Let  Britain  but  leave  America 
to  herself  and  she  asks  no  more.  She  has  risen  into  great- 
ness without  the  knowledge  and  against  the  will  of  England, 
and  has  a  right  to  the  unmolested  enjoyment  of  her  own 
created  wealth. 

"  I  will  order,"  says  the  speech,  "  the  estimates  of  the  ensuing 
year  to  be  laid  before  you.  I  rely  on  your  wisdom  and  public 
spirit  for  such  supplies  as  the  circumstances  of  our  affairs  shall 
be  found  to  require.  Among  the  many  ill  consequences  which 
attend  the  continuation  of  the  present  war,  I  most  sincerely  re- 
gret the  additional  burdens  which  it  must  unavoidably  bring  upon 
my  faithful  subjects." 

It  is  strange  that  a  nation  must  run  through  such  a  laby- 
rinth of  trouble,  and  expend  such  a  mass  of  wealth  to  gain 
the  wisdom  which  an  hour's  reflection  might  have  taught. 
The  final  superiority  of  America  over  every  attempt  that  an 
island  might  make  to  conquer  her,  was  as  naturally  marked 
in  the  constitution  of  things,  as  the  future  ability  of  a  giant 
over  a  dwarf  is  delineated  in  his  features  while  an  infant. 
How  far  providence,  to  accomplish  purposes  which  no 
human  wisdom  could  foresee,  permitted  such  extraordinary 
errors,  is  still  a  secret  in  the  womb  of  time,  and  must  remain 
so  till  futurity  shall  give  it  birth. 

"  In  the  prosecution  of  this  great  and  important  contest,"  says 
the  speech,  "  in  which  we  are  engaged,  I  retain  a  firm  confidence 
in  the  protection  of  divine  providence,  and  a  perfect  conviction  in 
the  justice  of  my  cause,  and  I  have  no  doubt,  but,  that  by  the 
concurrence  and  support  of  my  parliament,  by  the  valour  of  my 
fleets  and  armies,  and  by  a  vigorous,  animated,  and  united  exer- 
tion of  the  faculties  and  resources  of  my  people,  I  shall  be  enabled 
to  restore  the  blessings  of  a  safe  and  honorable  peace  to  all  my 
dominions." 


328  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1782 


The  king  of  England  is  one  of  the  readiest  believers  in 
the  world.  In  the  beginning  of  the  contest  he  passed  an 
act  to  put  America  out  of  the  protection  of  the  crown  of 
England,  and  though  providence,  for  seven  years  together, 
hath  put  him  out  of  Jier  protection,  still  the  man  has  no 
doubt.  Like  Pharaoh  on  the  edge  of  the  Red  sea,  he  sees 
not  the  plunge  he  is  making,  and  precipitately  drives  across 
the  flood  that  is  closing  over  his  head. 

I  think  it  is  a  reasonable  supposition,  that  this  part  of  the 
speech  was  composed  before  the  arrival  of  the  news  of  the 
capture  of  Cornwallis :  for  it  certainly  has  no  relation  to 
their  condition  at  the  time  it  was  spoken.  But,  be  this  as 
it  may,  it  is  nothing  to  us.  Our  line  is  fixed.  Our  lot  is 
cast ;  and  America,  the  child  of  fate,  is  arriving  at  maturity. 
We  have  nothing  to  do  but  by  a  spirited  and  quick  exertion, 
to  stand  prepared  for  war  or  peace.  Too  great  to  yield,  and 
too  noble  to  insult ;  superior  to  misfortune,  and  generous  in 
success,  let  us  untaintedly  preserve  the  character  which  we 
have  gained,  and  show  to  future  ages  an  example  of  un- 
equalled magnanimity.  There  is  something  in  the  cause  and 
consequence  of  America  that  has  drawn  on  her  the  attention 
of  all  mankind.  The  world  has  seen  her  brave.  Her  love 
of  liberty ;  her  ardour  in  supporting  it  ;  the  justice  of  her 
claims,  and  the  constancy  of  her  fortitude  have  won  her  the 
esteem  of  Europe,  and  attached  to  her  interest  the  first 
power  in  that  country. 

Her  situation  now  is  such,  that  to  whatever  point,  past, 
present  or  to  come,  she  casts  her  eyes,  new  matter  rises  to 
convince  her  that  she  is  right.  In  her  conduct  towards  her 
enemy,  no  reproachful  sentiment  lurks  in  secret.  No  sense 
of  injustice  is  left  upon  the  mind.  Untainted  with  ambition, 
and  a  stranger  to  revenge,  her  progress  hath  been  marked 
by  providence,  and  she,  in  every  stage  of  the  conflict,  has 
blest  her  with  success. 

But  let  not  America  wrap  herself  up  in  delusive  hope  and 
suppose  the  business  done.  The  least  remissness  in  prepara- 
tion, the  least  relaxation  in  execution,  will  only  serve  to 
prolong  the  war,  and  increase  expenses.    If  our  enemies  can 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


329 


draw  consolation  from  misfortune,  and  exert  themselves 
upon  despair,  how  much  more  ought  we,  who  are  to  win  a 
■continent  by  the  conquest,  and  have  already  an  earnest  of 
success  ? 

Having,  in  the  preceding  part,  made  my  remarks  on  the 
several  matters  which  the  speech  contains,  I  shall  now  make 
my  remarks  on  what  it  does  not  contain. 

There  is  not  a  syllable  in  it  respecting  alliances.  Either 
the  injustice  of  Britain  is  too  glaring,  or  her  condition  too 
desperate,  or  both,  for  any  neighboring  power  to  come  to 
her  support.  In  the  beginning  of  the  contest,  when  she  had 
only  America  to  contend  with,  she  hired  assistance  from 
Hesse,  and  other  smaller  states  of  Germany,  and  for  nearly 
three  years  did  America,  young,  raw,  undisciplined  and 
unprovided,  stand  against  the  power  of  Britain,  aided  by 
twenty  thousand  foreign  troops,  and  made  a  complete  con- 
quest of  one  entire  army.  The  remembrance  of  those  things 
ought  to  inspire  us  with  confidence  and  greatness  of  mind, 
and  carry  us  through  every  remaining  difificulty  with  content 
and  cheerfulness.  What  are  the  little  sufferings  of  the  pres- 
ent day,  compared  with  the  hardships  that  are  past  ?  There 
was  a  time,  when  we  had  neither  house  nor  home  in  safety  ; 
when  every  hour  was  the  hour  of  alarm  and  danger  ;  when 
the  mind,  tortured  with  anxiety,  knew  no  repose,  and  every 
thing,  but  hope  and  fortitude,  was  bidding  us  farewell. 

It  is  of  use  to  look  back  upon  these  things  ;  to  call  to 
mind  the  times  of  trouble  and  the  scenes  of  complicated 
anguish  that  are  past  and  gone.  Then  every  expense  was 
cheap,  compared  with  the  dread  of  conquest  and  the  misery 
of  submission.  We  did  not  stand  debating  upon  trifles,  or 
contending  about  the  necessary  and  unavoidable  charges  of 
defence.  Every  one  bore  his  lot  of  suffering,  and  looked 
forward  to  happier  days,  and  scenes  of  rest. 

Perhaps  one  of  the  greatest  dangers  which  any  country 
can  be  exposed  to,  arises  from  a  kind  of  trifling  which  some- 
times steals  upon  the  mind,  when  it  supposes  the  danger 
past ;  and  this  unsafe  situation  marks  at  this  time  the  pecu- 
liar crisis  of  America.    What  would  she  once  have  given  to 


330  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1782 


have  known  that  her  condition  at  this  day  should  be  what 
it  now  is  ?  And  yet  we  do  not  seem  to  place  a  proper  value 
upon  it,  nor  vigorously  pursue  the  necessary  measures  to 
secure  it.  We  know  that  we  cannot  be  defended,  nor  yet 
defend  ourselves,  without  trouble  and  expense.  We  have 
no  right  to  expect  it ;  neither  ought  we  to  look  for  it.  We 
are  a  people,  who,  in  our  situation,  differ  from  all  the  world. 
We  form  one  common  floor  of  public  good,  and,  whatever 
is  our  charge,  it  is  paid  for  our  own  interest  and  upon  our 
own  account. 

Misfortune  and  experience  have  now  taught  us  system 
and  method ;  and  the  arrangements  for  carrying  on  the  war 
are  reduced  to  rule  and  order.  The  quotas  of  the  several 
states  are  ascertained,  and  I  intend  in  a  future  publication 
to  show  what  they  are,  and  the  necessity  as  well  as  the  ad- 
vantages of  vigorously  providing  for  them. 

In  the  mean  time,  I  shall  conclude  this  paper  with  an  in- 
stance of  British  clemency,  from  Smollett's  History  of  Eng- 
land, vol.  xi.,  p.  239,  printed  in  London.  It  will  serve  to 
show  how  dismal  the  situation  of  a  conquered  people  is,  and 
that  the  only  security  is  an  effectual  defence. 

We  all  know  that  the  Stuart  family  and  the  house  of 
Hanover  opposed  each  other  for  the  crown  of  England.  The 
Stuart  family  stood  first  in  the  line  of  succession,  but  the 
other  was  the  most  successful. 

In  July,  1745,  Charles,  the  son  of  the  exiled  king,  landed 
in  Scotland,  collected  a  small  force,  at  no  time  exceeding 
five  or  six  thousand  men,  and  made  some  attempts  to  re- 
establish his  claim.  The  late  duke  of  Cumberland,  uncle  to 
the  present  king  of  England,  was  sent  against  him,  and  on 
the  i6th  of  April  following,  Charles  was  totally  defeated  at 
CuUoden,  in  Scotland.  Success  and  power  are  the  only 
situations  in  which  clemency  can  be  shown,  and  those  who 
are  cruel,  because  they  are  victorious,  can  with  the  same 
facility  act  any  other  degenerate  character. 

"  Immediately  after  the  decisive  action  at  Culloden,  the  duke  of 
Cumberland  took  possession  of  Inverness  ;  where  six  and  thirty 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


331 


deserters,  convicted  by  a  court  martial,  were  ordered  to  be  exe- 
cuted :  then  he  detached  several  parties  to  ravage  the  country. 
One  of  these  apprehended  the  lady  Mackintosh,  who  was  sent 
prisoner  to  Inverness,  plundered  her  house,  and  drove  away  her 
cattle,  though  her  husband  was  actually  in  the  service  of  the  gov- 
ernment. The  castle  of  lord  Lovat  was  destroyed.  The  French 
prisoners  were  sent  to  Carlisle  and  Penrith  :  Kilmarnock,  Bal- 
merino,  Cromartie,  and  his  son,  the  lord  Macleod,  were  conveyed 
by  sea  to  London  ;  and  those  of  an  inferior  rank  were  confined  in 
different  prisons.  The  marquis  of  TuUibardine,  together  with  a 
brother  of  the  earl  of  Dunmore,  and  Murray,  the  pretender's 
secretary,  were  seized  and  transported  to  the  tower  of  London,  to 
which  the  earl  of  Traquaire  had  been  committed  on  suspicion  ;  and 
the  eldest  son  of  lord  Lovat  was  imprisoned  in  the  castle  of  Edin- 
burgh. In  a  word,  all  the  jails  in  Great  Britain,  from  the  capital, 
northwards,  were  filled  with  those  unfortunate  captives  ;  and  great 
numbers  of  them  were  crowded  together  in  the  holds  of  ships, 
where  they  perished  in  the  most  deplorable  manner,  for  want  of 
air  and  exercise.  Some  rebel  chiefs  escaped  in  two  French 
frigates  that  arrived  on  the  coast  of  Lochaber  about  the  end  of 
April,  and  engaged  three  vessels  belonging  to  his  Britannic 
majesty,  which  they  obliged  to  retire.  Others  embarked  on  board 
a  ship  on  the  coast  of  Buchan,  and  were  conveyed  to  Norway, 
from  whence  they  travelled  to  Sweden.  In  the  month  of  May,  the 
duke  of  Cumberland  advanced  with  the  army  into  the  Highlands, 
as  far  as  fort  Augustus,  where  he  encamped  ;  and  sent  off  detach- 
ments on  all  hands,  to  hunt  down  the  fugitives,  and  lay  waste  the 
country  with  fire  and  sword.  The  castles  of  Glengary  and  Lochiel 
were  plundered  and  burned  ;  every  house,  hut,  or  habitation,  met 
with  the  same  fate,  without  distinction  ;  and  all  the  cattle  and 
provision  were  carried  off ;  the  men  were  either  shot  upon  the 
mountains,  like  wild  beasts,  or  put  to  death  in  cold  blood,  without 
form  of  trial  ;  the  women,  after  having  seen  their  husbands  and 
fathers  murdered,  were  subjected  to  brutal  violation,  and  then 
turned  out  naked,  with  their  children,  to  starve  on  the  barren 
heaths.  One  whole  family  was  enclosed  in  a  barn,  and  consumed 
to  ashes.  Those  ministers  of  vengeance  were  so  alert  in  the  exe- 
cution of  their  office,  that  in  a  few  days  there  was  neither  house, 
cottage,  man,  nor  beast,  to  be  seen  within  the  compass  of  fifty 
miles  ;  all  was  ruin,  silence,  and  desolation." 


332  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1782 


I  have  here  presented  the  reader  with  one  of  the  most 
shocking  instances  of  cruelty  ever  practised,  and  I  leave  it, 
to  rest  on  his  mind,  that  he  may  be  fully  impressed  with  a 
sense  of  the  destruction  he  has  escaped,  in  case  Britain  had 
conquered  America  ;  and  likewise,  that  he  may  see  and  feel 
the  necessity,  as  well  for  his  own  personal  safety,  as  for  the 
honor,  the  interest,  and  happiness  of  the  whole  community, 
to  omit  or  delay  no  one  preparation  necessary  to  secure  the 
ground  which  we  so  happily  stand  upon. 


TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  AMERICA. 

On  the  expenses,  arrangements  and  disburseinettts  for  carrying 
on  the  war,  and  finishing  it  with  honor  and  advantage. 

When  any  necessity  or  occasion  has  pointed  out  the  con- 
venience of  addressing  the  public,  I  have  never  made  it  a 
consideration  whether  the  subject  was  popular  or  unpopular, 
but  whether  it  was  right  or  wrong ;  for  that  which  is  right 
will  become  popular,  and  that  which  is  wrong,  though  by 
mistake  it  may  obtain  the  cry  or  fashion  of  the  day,  will 
soon  lose  the  power  of  delusion,  and  sink  into  disesteem. 

A  remarkable  instance  of  this  happened  in  the  case  of 
Silas  Deane ;  and  I  mention  this  circumstance  with  the 
greater  ease,  because  the  poison  of  his  hypocrisy  spread  over 
the  whole  country,  and  every  man,  almost  without  excep- 
tion, thought  me  wrong  in  opposing  him.  The  best  friends 
I  then  had,  except  Mr.  [Henry]  Laurens,  stood  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  this  tribute,  which  is  due  to  his  constancy,  I  pay 
to  him  with  respect,  and  that  the  readier,  because  he  is  not 
here  to  hear  it.  If  it  reaches  him  in  his  imprisonment,  it 
will  afford  him  an  agreeable  reflection. 

"yii'  Jie  rose  like  a  rocket,  lie  would  fall  like  a  stick,''  is  a 
metaphor  which  I  applied  to  Mr.  Deane,  in  the  first  piece 
which  I  published  respecting  him,  and  he  has  exactly  ful- 
filled the  description.  The  credit  he  so  unjustly  obtained 
from  the   public,   he   lost   in   almost   as   short  a  time. 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


333 


The  delusion  perished  as  it  fell,  and  he  soon  saw  himself 
stripped  of  popular  support.  His  more  intimate  acquaint- 
ances began  to  doubt,  and  to  desert  him  long  before  he  left 
America,  and  at  his  departure,  he  saw  himself  the  object  of 
general  suspicion.  When  he  arrived  in  France,  he  endeav- 
ored to  effect  by  treason  what  he  had  failed  to  accomplish 
by  fraud.  His  plans,  schemes  and  projects,  together  with 
his  expectation  of  being  sent  to  Holland  to  negotiate 
a  loan  of  money,  had  all  miscarried.  He  then  began 
traducing  and  accusing  America  of  every  crime,  which 
could  injure  her  reputation.  "  That  she  was  a  ruined 
country ;  that  she  only  meant  to  make  a  tool  of 
France,  to  get  what  money  she  could  out  of  her,  and  then 
to  leave  her  and  accommodate  with  Britain."  Of  all  which 
and  much  more,  colonel  Laurens  and  myself,  when  in 
France,  informed  Dr.  Franklin,  who  had  not  before  heard 
of  it.'  And  to  complete  the  character  of  traitor,  he  has,  by 
letters  to  his  country  since,  some  of  which,  in  his  own  hand- 
writing, are  now  in  the  possession  of  congress,  used  every 
expression  and  argument  in  his  power,  to  injure  the  reputa- 
tion of  France,  and  to  advise  America  to  renounce  her 
alliance,  and  surrender  up  her  independence.*  Thus  in 
France  he  abuses  America,  and  in  his  letters  to  America  he 
abuses  France ;  and  is  endeavoring  to  create  disunion  be- 
tween two  countries,  by  the  same  arts  of  double-dealing  by 
which  he  caused  dissentions  among  the  commissioners  in 
Paris,  and  distractions  in  America.  But  his  life  has  been 
fraud,  and  his  character  has  been  that  of  a  plodding,  plot- 
ting, cringing  mercenary,  capable  of  any  disguise  that  suited 

'  Paine,  as  Secretary  for  Col.  John  Laurens,  visited  France  early  in  1781, 
and  obtained  from  that  country  six  millions  of  livres,  with  clothing  and  mili- 
tary stores,  supplies  which  resulted  in  the  defeat  of  Cornwallis. — Editor. 

*  Mr.  William  Marshall,  of  this  city  [Philadelphia],  formerly  a  pilot,  who 
had  been  taken  at  sea  and  carried  to  England,  and  got  from  thence  to  France, 
brought  over  letters  from  Mr.  Deane  to  America,  one  of  which  was  directed  to 
"  Robert  Morris,  Esq."  Mr.  Morris  sent  it  unopened  to  Congress,  and  ad- 
vised Mr.  Marshall  to  deliver  the  others  there,  which  he  did.  The  letters  were 
of  the  same  purport  with  those  which  have  been  already  published  under  the 
signature  of  S.  Deane,  to  which  they  had  frequent  reference. — Author. 


334 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1782 


his  purpose.  His  final  detection  has  very  happily  cleared 
up  those  mistakes,  and  removed  that  uneasiness,  which  his 
unprincipled  conduct  occasioned.  Every  one  now  sees  him 
in  the  same  light ;  for  towards  friends  or  enemies  he  acted 
with  the  same  deception  and  injustice,  and  his  name,  like 
that  o{  Arnold,  ought  now  to  be  forgotten  among  us.'  As 
this  is  the  first  time  that  I  have  mentioned  him  since  my 
return  from  France,  it  is  my  intention  that  it  shall  be  the 
last.  From  this  digression,  which  for  several  reasons  I 
thought  necessary  to  give,  I  now  proceed  to  the  purport  of 
my  address. 

I  consider  the  war  of  America  against  Britain  as  the 
country's  war,  the  public's  war,  or  the  war  of  the  people  in 
their  own  behalf,  for  the  security  of  their  natural  rights, 
and  the  protection  of  their  own  property.  It  is  not  the  war 
of  congress,  the  war  of  the  assemblies,  or  the  war  of  govern- 
jnent  in  any  line  whatever.  The  country  first,  by  mutual 
compact,  resolved  to  defend  their  rights  and  maintain  their 
independence,  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives  and  fortunes ; 
they  elected  their  representatives,  by  whom  they  appointed 
their  members  of  congress,  and  said,  act  you  for  us,  and  we 
ivill  support  you.  This  is  the  true  ground  and  principle  of 
the  war  on  the  part  of  America,  and,  consequently,  there 
remains  nothing  to  do,  but  for  every  one  to  fulfil  his  obli- 
gation. 

It  was  next  to  impossible  that  a  new  country,  engaged  in 
a  new  undertaking,  could  set  off  systematically  right  at  first. 
She  saw  not  the  extent  of  the  struggle  that  she  was  involved 
in,  neither  could  she  avoid  the  beginning.  She  supposed 
■every  step  that  she  took,  and  every  resolution  which  she 
formed,  would  bring  her  enemy  to  reason  and  close  the  con- 
test. Those  failing,  she  was  forced  into  new  measures  ;  and 
these,  like  the  former,  being  fitted  to  her  expectations,  and 

'  Deane  was  actually  in  London  associating  with  Benedict  Arnold.  The  ex- 
tent of  his  treason  was  not  known  until  the  publication,  in  1867,  of  George  the 
Third's  correspondence.  The  importance  of  printing  the  series  of  The  Crisis 
consecutively  has  rendered  it  necessary  to  postpone  Paine's  articles  concerning 
Deane  (1778-9)  to  a  later  page  of  this  volume.  (See  XXII.,  XXIII.) — 
Editor. 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


335 


failing  in  their  turn,  left  her  continually  unprovided,  and  with- 
out system.  The  enemy,  likewise,  was  induced  to  prosecute 
the  war,  from  the  temporary  expedients  we  adopted  for 
carrying  it  on.  We  were  continually  expecting  to  see  their 
credit  exhausted,  and  they  were  looking  to  see  our  currency 
fail ;  and  thus,  between  their  watching  us,  and  we  them,  the 
hopes  of  both  have  been  deceived,  and  the  childishness  of 
the  expectation  has  served  to  increase  the  expense. 

Yet  who,  through  this  wilderness  of  error,  has  been  to 
blame  ?  Where  is  the  man  who  can  say  the  fault,  in  part, 
has  not  been  his?  They  were  the  natural,  unavoidable 
errors  of  the  day.  They  were  the  errors  of  a  whole  country, 
which  nothing  but  experience  could  detect  and  time  remove. 
Neither  could  the  circumstances  of  America  admit  of  sys- 
tem, till  either  the  paper  currency  was  fixed  or  laid  aside. 
No  calculation  of  a  finance  could  be  made  on  a  medium 
failing  without  reason,  and  fluctuating  without  rule. 

But  there  is  one  error  which  might  have  been  prevented 
and  was  not ;  and  as  it  is  not  my  custom  to  flatter,  but  to 
serve  mankind,  I  will  speak  it  freely.  It  certainly  was  the 
duty  of  every  assembly  on  the  continent  to  have  known,  at 
all  times,  what  was  the  condition  of  its  treasury,  and  to  have 
ascertained  at  every  period  of  depreciation,  how  much  the 
real  worth  of  the  taxes  fell  short  of  their  nominal  value. 
This  knowledge,  which  might  have  been  easily  gained,  in  the 
time  of  it,  would  have  enabled  them  to  have  kept  their  con- 
stituents well  informed,  and  this  is  one  of  the  greatest  duties 
of  representation.  They  ought  to  have  studied  and  calcu- 
lated the  expenses  of  the  war,  the  quota  of  each  state,  and 
the  consequent  proportion  that  would  fall  on  each  man's 
property  for  his  defence ;  and  this  must  have  easily  shown 
to  them,  that  a  tax  of  one  hundred  pounds  could  not  be 
paid  by  a  bushel  of  apples  or  an  hundred  of  flour,  which  was 
often  the  case  two  or  three  years  ago.  But  instead  of  this, 
which  would  have  been  plain  and  upright  dealing,  the  little 
line  of  temporary  popularity,  the  feather  of  an  hour's  dura- 
tion, was  too  much  pursued  ;  and  in  this  involved  condition 
of  things,  every  state,  for  the  want  of  a  little  thinking,  or  a 


336 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1782 


little  information,  supposed  that  it  supported  the  whole  ex- 
penses of  the  war,  when  in  fact  it  fell,  by  the  time  the  tax 
was  levied  and  collected,  above  three-fourths  short  of  its  own 
quota. 

Impressed  with  a  sense  of  the  danger  to  which  the  coun- 
try was  exposed  by  this  lax  method  of  doing  business,  and 
the  prevailing  errors  of  the  day,  I  published,  last  October 
was  a  twelvemonth,  the  Crisis  Extraordinary,  on  the  reve- 
nues of  America,  and  the  yearly  expense  of  carrying  on  the 
war.  My  estimation  of  the  latter,  together  with  the  civil 
list  of  congress,  and  the  civil  list  of  the  several  states,  was 
two  million  pounds  sterling,  which  is  very  nearly  nine  millions 
of  dollars. 

Since  that  time,  congress  have  gone  into  a  calculation,  and 
have  estimated  the  expenses  of  the  war  department  and  the 
civil  list  of  congress  (exclusive  of  the  civil  list  of  the  several 
governments)  at  eight  millions  of  dollars ;  and  as  the  remain- 
ing million  will  be  fully  sufficient  for  the  civil  list  of  the 
several  states,  the  two  calculations  are  exceedingly  near  each 
other. 

The  sum  of  eight  millions  of  dollars  they  have  called  upon 
the  states  to  furnish,  and  their  quotas  are  as  follows,  which 
I  shall  preface  with  the  resolution  itself. 

"  By  ihe  United  States  in  congress  assembled. 

"  October  30,  1781. 

"  Resolved,  That  the  respective  states  be  called  upon  to  furnish 
the  treasury  of  the  United  States  with  their  quotas  of  eight  mil- 
lions of  dollars,  for  the  war  department  and  civil  list  for  the  en- 
suing year,  to  be  paid  quarterly,  in  equal  proportions,  the  first 
payxnent  to  be  made  on  the  first  day  of  April  next. 

"  Resolved,  That  a  committee,  consisting  of  a  member  from  each 
state,  be  appointed  to  apportion  to  the  several  states  the  quota  of 
the  above  sum. 

"  November  2d.  The  committee  appointed  to  ascertain  the 
proportions  of  the  several  states  of  the  monies  to  be  raised  for 
the  expenses  of  the  ensuing  year,  report  the  following  resolu- 
tions : 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


337 


"  That  the  sum  of  eight  millions  of  dollars,  as  required  to  be 
raised  by  the  resolutions  of  the  30th  of  October  last,  be  paid  by 
the  states  in  the  following  proportion  : 


New-Hampshire   $  373.598 

Massachusetts    1.307,596 

Rhode  Island    216,684 

Connecticut      747,196 

New- York    373.598 

New-Jersey    485,679 

Pennsylvania    1,120,794 

Delaware    112,085 

Maryland    933,996 

Virginia    1,307,594 

North  Carolina    622,677 

South  Carolina    373,598 

Georgia    24,905 


$8,000,000 

Resolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  several  states,  to 
lay  taxes  for  raising  their  quotas  of  money  for  the  United  States, 
separate  from  those  laid  for  their  own  particular  use." 

On  these  resolutions  I  shall  offer  several  remarks. 

1st,  On  the  sum  itself,  and  the  ability  of  the  country. 

2d,  On  the  several  quotas,  and  the  nature  of  a  union.  And, 

3d,  On  the  manner  of  collection  and  expenditure. 

1st,  On  the  sum  itself,  and  the  ability  of  the  country.  As 
I  know  my  own  calculation  is  as  low  as  possible,  and  as  the 
sum  called  for  by  congress,  according  to  their  calculation, 
agrees  very  nearly  therewith,  I  am  sensible  it  cannot  possibly 
be  lower.  Neither  can  it  be  done  for  that,  unless  there  is. 
ready  money  to  go  to  market  with ;  and  even  in  that  case, 
it  is  only  by  the  utmost  management  and  economy  that  it 
can  be  made  to  do. 

By  the  accounts  which  were  laid  before  the  British  parlia- 
ment last  spring,  it  appeared  that  the  charge  of  only  subsist- 
ing, that  is,  feeding  their  army  in  America,  cost  annually 
four  million  pounds  sterling,  which  is  very  nearly  eighteen 
millions  of  dollars.  Now  if,  for  eight  millions,  we  can  feed, 
clothe,  arm,  provide  for,  and  pay  an  army  sufficient  for  our 


338 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1782 


defence,  the  very  comparison  shows  that  the  money  must 
be  well  laid  out. 

It  may  be  of  some  use,  either  in  debate  or  conversation, 
to  attend  to  the  progress  of  the  expenses  of  an  army,  be- 
cause it  will  enable  us  to  see  on  what  part  any  deficiency 
will  fall. 

The  first  thing  is,  to  feed  them  and  prepare  for  the  sick. 
Second,  to  clothe  them. 
Third,  to  arm  and  furnish  them. 

Fourth,  to  provide  means  for  removing  them  from  place 
to  place.  And, 
Fifth,  to  pay  them. 

The  first  and  second  are  absolutely  necessary  to  them  as 
men.  The  third  and  fourth  are  equally  as  necessary  to 
them  as  an  army.  And  the  fifth  is  their  just  due.  Now  if 
the  sum  which  shall  be  raised  should  fall  short,  either  by  the 
several  acts  of  the  states  for  raising  it,  or  by  the  manner  of 
collecting  it,  the  deficiency  will  fall  on  the  fifth  head,  the 
soldiers'  pay,  which  would  be  defrauding  them,  and  eternally 
disgracing  ourselves.  It  would  be  a  blot  on  the  councils, 
the  country,  and  the  revolution  of  America,  and  a  man 
would  hereafter  be  ashamed  to  own  that  he  had  any  hand 
in  it. 

But  if  the  deficiency  should  be  still  shorter,  it  would  next 
fall  on  the  fourth  head,  the  meaits  of  removing  the  army  from 
place  to  place ;  and,  in  this  case,  the  army  must  either  stand 
still  where  it  can  be  of  no  use,  or  seize  on  horses,  carts, 
wagons,  or  any  means  of  transportation  which  it  can  lay 
hold  of ;  and  in  this  instance  the  country  suffers.  In  short, 
every  attempt  to  do  a  thing  for  less  than  it  can  be  done  for, 
is  sure  to  become  at  last  both  a  loss  and  a  dishonor. 

But  the  country  cannot  bear  it,  say  some.  This  has  been 
the  most  expensive  doctrine  that  ever  was  held  out,  and  cost 
America  millions  of  money  for  nothing.  Can  the  country 
bear  to  be  overrun,  ravaged,  and  ruined  by  an  enemy?  This 
will  immediately  follow  where  defence  is  wanting,  and  de- 
fence will  ever  be  wanting  where  sufficient  revenues  are  not 
provided.    But  this  is  only  one  part  of  the  folly.  The 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


339 


second  is,  that  when  the  danger  comes,  invited  in  part  by 
our  not  preparing  against  it,  we  have  been  obliged,  in  a 
number  of  instances,  to  expend  double  the  sums  to  do  that 
which  at  first  might  have  been  done  for  half  the  money. 
But  this  is  not  all.  A  third  mischief  has  been,  that  grain  of 
all  sorts,  flour,  beef,  fodder,  horses,  carts,  wagons,  or  what- 
ever was  absolutely  or  immediately  wanted,  have  been  taken 
without  pay.  Now,  I  ask,  why  was  all  this  done,  but  from 
that  extremely  weak  and  expensive  doctrine,  that  the  country 
£ould  not  bear  it  ?  That  is,  that  she  could  not  bear,  in  the 
first  instance,  that  which  would  have  saved  her  twice  as 
much  at  last ;  or,  in  proverbial  language,  that  she  could  not 
bear  to  pay  a  penny  to  save  a  pound  ;  the  consequence  of 
which  has  been,  that  she  has  paid  a  pound  for  a  penny. 
Why  are  there  so  many  unpaid  certificates  in  almost  every 
man's  hands,  but  from  the  parsimony  of  not  providing  sufifi- 
cient  revenues?  Besides,  the  doctrine  contradicts  itself; 
because,  if  the  whole  country  cannot  bear  it,  how  is  it  pos- 
sible that  a  part  should  ?  And  yet  this  has  been  the  case  : 
for  those  things  have  been  had  ;  and  they  must  be  had  ;  but 
the  misfortune  is,  that  they  have  been  obtained  in  a  very 
unequal  manner,  and  upon  expensive  credit,  whereas,  with 
ready  money,  they  might  have  been  purchased  for  half  the 
price,  and  nobody  distressed. 

But  there  is  another  thought  which  ought  to  strike  us, 
which  is,  how  is  the  army  to  bear  the  want  of  food,  clothing 
and  other  necessaries  ?  The  man  who  is  at  home,  can  turn 
himself  a  thousand  ways,  and  find  as  many  means  of  ease, 
convenience  or  relief:  but  a  soldier's  life  admits  of  none  of 
those  :  their  wants  cannot  be  supplied  from  themselves  :  for 
an  army,  though  it  is  the  defence  of  a  state,  is  at  the  same 
time  the  child  of  a  country,  or  must  be  provided  for  in 
every  thing. 

And  lastly,  The  doctrine  is  false.  There  are  not  three 
millions  of  people  in  any  part  of  the  universe,  who  live  so 
well,  or  have  such  a  fund  of  ability,  as  in  America.  The 
income  of  a  common  laborer,  who  is  industrious,  is  equal  to 
that  of  the  generality  of  tradesmen  in  England.    In  the 


34°  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1782 


mercantile  line,  I  have  not  heard  of  one  who  could  be  said 
to  be  a  bankrupt  since  the  war  began,  and  in  England  they 
have  been  without  number.  In  America  almost  every  farmer 
lives  on  his  own  lands,  and  in  England  not  one  in  a  hundred 
does.  In  short,  it  seems  as  if  the  poverty  of  that  country 
had  made  them  furious,  and  they  were  determined  to  risk 
all  to  recover  all. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  those  advantages  on  the  part  of 
America,  true  it  is,  that  had  it  not  been  for  the  operation 
of  taxes  for  our  necessary  defence,  we  had  sunk  into  a  state 
of  sloth  and  poverty  :  for  there  was  more  wealth  lost  by 
neglecting  to  till  the  earth  in  the  years  1776,  '77,  and  '78, 
than  the  quota  of  taxes  amounts  to.  That  which  is  lost  by 
neglect  of  this  kind,  is  lost  for  ever  :  whereas  that  which  is 
paid,  and  continues  in  the  country,  returns  to  us  again  ;  and 
at  the  same  time  that  it  provides  us  with  defence,  it  operates 
not  only  as  a  spur,  but  as  a  premium  to  our  industry. 

I  shall  now  proceed  to  the  second  head,  viz.  on  the  several 
qtiotas,  and  the  nature  of  a  union. 

There  was  a  time  when  America  had  no  other  bond  of 
union,  than  that  of  common  interest  and  affection.  The 
whole  country  flew  to  the  relief  of  Boston,  and,  making  her 
cause  their  own,  participated  in  her  cares  and  administered 
to  her  wants.  The  fate  of  war,  since  that  day,  has  carried 
the  calamity  in  a  ten-fold  proportion  to  the  southward  ;  but 
in  the  mean  time  the  union  has  been  strengthened  by  a 
legal  compact  of  the  states,  jointly  and  severally  ratified,  and 
that  which  before  was  choice,  or  the  duty  of  affection,  is 
now  likewise  the  duty  of  legal  obligation. 

The  union  of  America  is  the  foundation-stone  of  her  inde- 
pendence ;  the  rock  on  which  it  is  built ;  and  is  something 
so  sacred  in  her  constitution,  that  we  ought  to  watch  every 
word  we  speak,  and  every  thought  we  think,  that  we  injure 
it  not,  even  by  mistake.  When  a  multitude,  extended,  or 
rather  scattered,  over  a  continent  in  the  manner  we  were, 
mutually  agree  to  form  one  common  centre  whereon  the 
whole  shall  move  to  accomplish  a  particular  purpose,  all 
parts  must  act  together  and  alike,  or  act  not  at  all,  and  a 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


341 


stoppage  in  any  one  is  a  stoppage  of  the  whole,  at  least  for 
a  time. 

Thus  the  several  states  have  sent  representatives  to  as- 
semble together  in  congress,  and  they  have  empowered  that 
body,  which  thus  becomes  their  centre,  and  are  no  other 
than  themselves  in  representation,  to  conduct  and  manage 
the  war,  while  their  constituents  at  home  attend  to  the 
domestic  cares  of  the  country,  their  internal  legislation,  their 
farms,  professions  or  employments,  for  it  is  only  by  reducing 
complicated  things  to  method  and  orderly  connexion  that 
they  can  be  understood  with  advantage,  or  pursued  with 
success.  Congress,  by  virtue  of  this  delegation,  estimates 
the  expense,  and  apportions  it  out  to  the  several  parts  of  the 
empire  according  to  their  several  abilities ;  and  here  the 
debate  must  end,  because  each  state  has  already  had  its 
voice,  and  the  matter  has  undergone  its  whole  portion  of 
argument,  and  can  no  more  be  altered  by  any  particular 
state,  than  a  law  of  any  state,  after  it  has  passed,  can  be 
altered  by  any  individual.  For  with  respect  to  those  things 
which  immediately  concern  the  union,  and  for  which  the 
union  was  purposely  established,  and  is  intended  to  secure, 
each  state  is  to  the  United  States  what  each  individual  is  to 
the  state  he  lives  in.  And  it  is  on  this  grand  point,  this 
movement  upon  one  centre,  that  our  existence  as  a  nation, 
our  happiness  as  a  people,  and  our  safety  as  individuals, 
depend. 

It  may  happen  that  some  state  or  other  may  be  somewhat 
•over  or  under  rated,  but  this  cannot  be  much.  The  experi- 
ence which  has  been  had  upon  the  matter,  has  nearly  ascer- 
tained their  several  abilities.  But  even  in  this  case,  it  can 
only  admit  of  an  appeal  to  the  United  States,  but  cannot 
authorise  any  state  to  make  the  alteration  itself,  any  more 
than  our  internal  government  can  admit  an  individual  to  do 
so  in  the  case  of  an  act  of  assembly  ;  for  if  one  state  can  do 
it,  then  may  another  do  the  same,  and  the  instant  this  is 
done  the  whole  is  undone. 

Neither  is  it  supposable  that  any  single  state  can  be  a 
judge  of  all  the  comparative  reasons  which  may  influence 


342  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1782 


the  collective  body  in  arranging  the  quotas  of  the  continent. 
The  circumstances  of  the  several  states  are  frequently  vary- 
ing, occasioned  by  the  accidents  of  war  and  commerce,  and 
it  will  often  fall  upon  some  to  help  others,  rather  beyond 
what  their  exact  proportion  at  another  time  might  be ;  but 
even  this  assistance  is  as  naturally  and  politically  included 
in  the  idea  of  a  union  as  that  of  any  particular  assigned  pro- 
portion ;  because  we  know  not  whose  turn  it  may  be  next  to 
want  assistance,  for  which  reason  that  state  is  the  wisest 
which  sets  the  best  example. 

Though  in  matters  of  bounden  duty  and  reciprocal  affec- 
tion, it  is  rather  a  degeneracy  from  the  honesty  and  ardour 
of  the  heart  to  admit  any  thing  selfish  to  partake  in  the 
government  of  our  conduct,  yet  in  cases  where  our  duty,  our 
affections,  and  our  interest  all  coincide,  it  may  be  of  some 
use  to  observe  their  union.  The  United  States  will  become 
heir  to  an  extensive  quantity  of  vacant  land,  and  their  several 
titles  to  shares  and  quotas  thereof,  will  naturally  be  adjusted 
according  to  their  relative  quotas,  during  the  war,  exclusive 
of  that  inability  which  may  unfortunately  arise  to  any  state 
by  the  enemy's  holding  possession  of  a  part ;  but  as  this  is 
a  cold  matter  of  interest,  I  pass  it  by,  and  proceed  to  my 
third  head,  viz.,  on  the  manner  of  collection  and  expenditure. 

It  hath  been  our  error,  as  well  as  our  misfortune,  to  blend 
the  affairs  of  each  state,  especially  in  money  matters,  with 
those  of  the  United  States  ;  whereas  it  is  our  case,  con- 
venience and  interest,  to  keep  them  separate.  The  ex- 
penses of  the  United  States  for  carrying  on  the  war,  and 
the  expenses  of  each  state  for  its  own  domestic  government, 
are  distinct  things,  and  to  involve  them  is  a  source  of  per- 
plexity and  a  cloak  for  fraud.  I  love  method,  because  I 
see  and  am  convinced  of  its  beauty  and  advantage.  It 
is  that  which  makes  all  business  easy  and  understood, 
and  without  which,  everything  becomes  embarrassed  and 
difficult. 

There  are  certain  powers  which  the  people  of  each  state 
have  delegated  to  their  legislative  and  executive  bodies,  and 
there  are  other  powers  which  the  people  of  every  state  have 


1782]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  343 


delegated  to  congress,  among  which  is  that  of  conducting 
the  war,  and,  consequently,  of  managing  the  expenses  attend- 
ing it  ;  for  how  else  can  that  be  managed,  which  concerns 
every  state,  but  by  a  delegation  from  each  ?  When  a  state 
has  furnished  its  quota,  it  has  an  undoubted  right  to  know 
how  it  has  been  applied,  and  it  is  as  much  the  duty  of  con- 
gress to  inform  the  state  of  the  one,  as  it  is  the  duty  of  the 
state  to  provide  the  other. 

In  the  resolution  of  congress  already  recited,  it  is  recom- 
mended to  the  several  states  to  lay  taxes  for  raising  their 
quotas  of  money  for  the  United  States,  separate  frovi  those 
laid  for  their  own  particular  use. 

This  is  a  most  necessary  point  to  be  observed,  and  the 
distinction  should  follow  all  the  way  through.  They  should 
be  levied,  paid  and  collected,  separately,  and  kept  separate 
in  every  instance.  Neither  have  the  civil  officers  of  any 
state,  or  the  government  of  that  state,  the  least  right  to 
touch  that  money  which  the  people  pay  for  the  support  of 
their  army  and  the  war,  any  more  than  congress  has  to  touch 
that  which  each  state  raises  for  its  own  use. 

This  distinction  will  naturally  be  followed  by  another.  It 
will  occasion  every  state  to  examine  nicely  into  the  expenses 
of  its  civil  list,  and  to  regulate,  reduce,  and  bring  it  into 
better  order  than  it  has  hitherto  been  ;  because  the  money 
for  that  purpose  must  be  raised  apart,  and  accounted  for  to 
the  public  separately.  But  while  the  monies  of  both  were 
blended,  the  necessary  nicety  was  not  observed,  and  the  poor 
soldier,  who  ought  to  have  been  the  first,  was  the  last  who 
was  thought  of. 

Another  convenience  will  be,  that  the  people,  by  paying 
the  taxes  separately,  will  know  what  they  are  for  ;  and  will 
likewise  know  that  those  which  are  for  the  defence  of  the 
country  will  cease  with  the  war,  or  soon  after.  For  although, 
as  I  have  before  observed,  the  war  is  their  own,  and  for  the 
support  of  their  own  rights  and  the  protection  of  their  own 
property,  yet  they  have  the  same  right  to  know,  that  they 
have  to  pay,  and  it  is  the  want  of  not  knowing  that  is  often 
the  cause  of  dissatisfaction. 


344  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1782 


This  regulation  of  keeping  the  taxes  separate  has  given 
rise  to  a  regulation  in  the  ofifice  of  finance,  by  which  it  is 
directed  : 

"  That  the  receivers  shall,  at  the  end  of  every  month,  make  out 
an  exact  account  of  the  monies  received  by  them  respectively, 
during  such  month,  specifying  therein  the  names  of  the  persons 
from  whom  the  same  shall  have  been  received,  the  dates  and  the 
sums  ;  which  account  they  shall  respectively  cause  to  be  published 
in  one  of  the  newspapers  of  the  state  ;  to  the  end  that  every  citi- 
zen may  know  how  much  of  the  monies  collected  from  him,  in 
taxes,  is  transmitted  to  the  treasury  of  the  United  States  for  the 
support  of  the  war  ;  and  also,  that  it  may  be  known  what  monies 
have  been  at  the  order  of  the  superintendant  of  finance.  It  being 
proper  and  necessary,  that,  in  a  free  country,  the  people  should 
be  as  fully  informed  of  the  administration  of  their  affairs  as  the 
nature  of  things  will  admit." 

It  is  an  agreeable  thing  to  see  a  spirit  of  order  and 
economy  taking  place,  after  such  a  series  of  errors  and 
difficulties.  A  government  or  an  administration,  who  means 
and  acts  honestly,  has  nothing  to  fear,  and  consequently  has 
nothing  to  conceal ;  and  it  would  be  of  use  if  a  monthly  or 
quarterly  account  was  to  be  published,  as  well  of  the  expen- 
ditures as  of  the  receipts.  Eight  millions  of  dollars  must  be 
husbanded  with  an  exceeding  deal  of  care  to  make  it  do, 
and,  therefore,  as  the  management  must  be  reputable,  the 
publication  would  be  serviceable. 

I  have  heard  of  petitions  which  have  been  presented  to 
the  assembly  of  this  state  (and  probably  the  same  may  have 
happened  in  other  states)  praying  to  have  the  taxes  lowered. 
Now  the  only  way  to  keep  taxes  low  is,  for  the  United 
States  to  have  ready  money  to  go  to  market  with :  and 
though  the  taxes  to  be  raised  for  the  present  year  will  fall 
heavy,  and  there  will  naturally  be  some  difificulty  in  paying 
them,  yet  the  difificulty,  in  proportion  as  money  spreads 
about  the  country,  will  every  day  grow  less,  and  in  the  end 
we  shall  save  some  millions  of  dollars  by  it.  We  see  what 
a  bitter,  revengeful  enemy  we  have  to  deal  with,  and  any 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


345 


expense  is  cheap  compared  to  their  merciless  paw.  We 
have  seen  the  unfortunate  Carolineans  hunted  Hke  partridges 
on  the  mountains,  and  it  is  only  by  providing  means  for  our 
defence,  that  we  shall  be  kept  from  the  same  condition. 
When  we  think  or  talk  about  taxes,  we  ought  to  recollect 
that  we  lie  down  in  peace  and  sleep  in  safety ;  that  we  can 
follow  our  farms  or  stores  or  other  occupations,  in  prosperous 
tranquillity ;  and  that  these  inestimable  blessings  are  pro- 
cured to  us  by  the  taxes  that  we  pay.  In  this  view,  our 
taxes  are  properly  our  insurance  money  ;  they  are  what  we 
pay  to  be  made  safe,  and,  in  strict  policy,  are  the  best  money 
we  can  lay  out. 

It  was  my  intention  to  offer  some  remarks  on  the  impost 
law  of  five  per  cent,  recommended  by  congress,  and  to  be 
established  as  a  fund  for  the  payment  of  the  loan-of¥ice  cer- 
tificates, and  other  debts  of  the  United  States ;  but  I  have 
already  extended  my  piece  beyond  my  intention.  And  as 
this  fund  will  make  our  system  of  finance  complete,  and  is 
strictly  just,  and  consequently  requires  nothing  but  honesty 
to  do  it,  there  needs  but  little  to  be  said  upon  it. 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  March  5,  1782. 


THE  CRISIS. 

XI. 

ON  THE  PRESENT  STATE  OF  NEWS. 

Since  the  arrival  of  two,  if  not  three  packets  in  quick 
succession,  at  New  York,  from  England,  a  variety  of  un- 
connected news  has  circulated  through  the  country,  and 
afforded  as  great  a  variety  of  speculation. 

That  something  is  the  matter  in  the  cabinet  and  councils 
of  our  enemies,  on  the  other  side  of  the  water,  is  certain — 
that  they  have  run  their  length  of  madness,  and  are  under  the 
necessity  of  changing  their  measures  may  easily  be  seen 
into  ;  but  to  what  this  change  of  measures  may  amount,  or 


346 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1782 


how  far  it  may  correspond  with  our  interest,  happiness  and 
duty,  is  yet  uncertain  ;  and  from  what  we  have  hitherto 
experienced,  we  have  too  much  reason  to  suspect  them  in 
every  thing. 

I  do  not  address  this  pubHcation  so  much  to  the  people 
of  America  as  to  the  British  ministry,  whoever  they  may  be, 
for  if  it  is  their  intention  to  promote  any  kind  of  negotiation, 
it  is  proper  they  should  know  beforehand,  that  the  United 
States  have  as  much  honour  as  bravery ;  and  that  they  are 
no  more  to  be  seduced  from  their  alHance  than  their  alle- 
giance ;  that  their  line  of  politics  is  formed  and  not  depen- 
dant, like  that  of  their  enemy,  on  chance  and  accident. 

On  our  part,  in  order  to  know,  at  any  time,  what  the 
British  government  will  do,  we  have  only  to  find  out  what 
they  ought  not  to  do,  and  this  last  will  be  their  conduct. 
Forever  changing  and  forever  wrong ;  too  distant  from 
America  to  improve  in  circumstances,  and  too  unwise  to  fore- 
see them  ;  scheming  without  principle,  and  executing  without 
probability,  their  whole  line  of  management  has  hitherto  been 
blunder  and  baseness.  Every  campaign  has  added  to  their 
loss,  and  every  year  to  their  disgrace;  till  unable  to  go  on, 
and  ashamed  to  go  back,  their  politics  have  come  to  a  halt, 
and  all  their  fine  prospects  to  a  halter. 

Could  our  affections  forgive,  or  humanity  forget  the 
wounds  of  an  injured  country — we  might,  under  the  influence 
of  a  momentary  oblivion,  stand  still  and  laugh.  But  they 
are  engraven  where  no  amusement  can  conceal  them,  and  of 
a  kind  for  which  there  is  no  recompense.  Can  ye  restore  to 
us  the  beloved  dead  ?  Can  ye  say  to  the  grave,  give  up  the 
murdered  ?  Can  ye  obliterate  from  our  memories  those  who 
are  no  more  ?  Think  not  then  to  tamper  with  our  feelings 
by  an  insidious  contrivance,  nor  suffocate  our  humanity  by 
seducing  us  to  dishonour. 

In  March  1780,  I  published  part  of  the  Crisis,  No.  VIII., 
in  the  newspapers,  but  did  not  conclude  it  in  the  following 
papers,  and  the  remainder  has  lain  by  me  till  the  present 
day. 

There  appeared  about  that  time  some  disposition  in  the 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


347 


British  cabinet  to  cease  the  further  prosecution  of  the  war, 
and  as  I  had  formed  my  opinion  that  whenever  such  a  design 
should  take  place,  it  would  be  accompanied  by  a  dishonour- 
able proposition  to  America,  respecting  France,  I  had  sup- 
pressed the  remainder  of  that  number,  not  to  expose  the 
baseness  of  any  such  proposition.  But  the  arrival  of  the 
next  news  from  England,  declared  her  determination  to  go 
on  with  the  war,  and  consequently  as  the  political  object  I 
had  then  in  view  was  not  become  a  subject,  it  was  unneces- 
sary in  me  to  bring  it  forward,  which  is  the  reason  it  was 
never  published. 

The  matter  which  I  allude  to  in  the  unpublished  part, 
I  shall  now  make  a  quotation  of,  and  apply  it  as  the  more 
enlarged  state  of  things,  at  this  day,  shall  make  convenient 
or  necessary. 

It  was  as  follows : 

"  By  the  speeches  which  have  appeared  from  the  British 
parliament,  it  is  easy  to  perceive  to  what  impolitic  and  im- 
prudent excesses  their  passions  and  prejudices  have,  in  every 
instance,  carried  them  during  the  present  war.  Provoked  at 
the  upright  and  honourable  treaty  between  America  and 
France,  they  imagined  that  nothing  more  was  necessary  to 
be  done  to  prevent  its  final  ratification,  than  to  promise, 
through  the  agency  of  their  commissioners  (Carlisle,  Eden, 
and  Johnstone)  a  repeal  of  their  once  offensive  acts  of  par- 
liament. The  vanity  of  the  conceit,  was  as  unpardonable  as 
the  experiment  was  impolitic.  And  so  convinced  am  I  of 
their  wrong  ideas  of  America,  that  I  shall  not  wonder,  if,  in 
their  last  stage  of  political  phrenzy,  they  propose  to  her  to 
break  her  alliance  with  France,  and  enter  into  one  with  them. 
Such  a  proposition,  should  it  ever  be  made,  and  it  has  been 
already  more  than  once  hinted  at  in  parliament,  would  dis- 
cover such  a  disposition  to  perfidiousness,  and  such  disregard 
of  honour  and  morals,  as  would  add  the  finishing  vice  to 
national  corruption. — I  do  not  mention  this  to  put  America 
on  the  watch,  but  to  put  England  on  her  guard,  that  she  do 
not,  in  the  looseness  of  her  heart,  envelop  in  disgrace  every 
fragment  of  reputation." — Thus  far  the  quotation. 


348  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1782 


By  the  complexion  of  some  part  of  the  news  which  has 
transpired  through  the  New-York  papers,  it  seems  probable 
that  this  insidious  era  in  the  British  politics  is  beginning  to 
make  its  appearance.  I  wish  it  may  not ;  for  that  which  is 
a  disgrace  to  human  nature,  throws  something  of  a  shade 
over  all  the  human  character,  and  each  individual  feels  his 
share  of  the  wound  that  is  given  to  the  whole. 

The  policy  of  Britain  has  ever  been  to  divide  America  in 
some  way  or  other.  In  the  beginning  of  the  dispute,  she 
practised  every  art  to  prevent  or  destroy  the  union  of  the 
states,  well  knowing  that  could  she  once  get  them  to  stand 
singly,  she  could  conquer  them  unconditionally.  Failing  in 
this  project  in  America,  she  renewed  it  in  Europe ;  and, 
after  the  alliance  had  taken  place,  she  made  secret  offers  to 
France  to  induce  her  to  give  up  America ;  and  what  is  still 
more  extraordinary,  she  at  the  same  time  made  propositions 
to  Dr.  Franklin,  then  in  Paris,  the  very  court  to  which  she 
was  secretly  applying,  to  draw  off  America  from  France. 
But  this  is  not  all. 

On  the  14th  of  September,  1778,  the  British  court,  through 
their  secretary,  lord  Weymouth,  made  application  to  the 
marquis  d'Almadovar,  the  Spanish  ambassador  at  London, 
to  "  ask  the  mediation,'''  for  these  were  the  words,  of  the 
court  of  Spain,  for  the  purpose  of  negociating  a  peace  with 
France,  leaving  America  (as  I  shall  hereafter  show)  out  of 
the  question.  Spain  readily  offered  her  mediation,  and  like- 
wise the  city  of  Madrid  as  the  place  of  conference,  but 
withal,  proposed,  that  the  United  States  of  America  should 
be  invited  to  the  treaty,  and  considered  as  independent 
during  the  time  the  business  was  negotiating.  But  this  was 
not  the  view  of  England.  She  wanted  to  draw  France  from 
the  war,  that  she  might  uninterruptedly  pour  out  all  her 
force  and  fury  upon  America ;  and  being  disappointed  in 
this  plan,  as  well  through  the  open  and  generous  conduct  of 
Spain,  as  the  determination  of  France,  she  refused  the 
mediation  which  she  had  solicited. 

I  shall  now  give  some  extracts  from  the  justifying  memo- 
Tial  of  the  Spanish  court,  in  which  she  has  set  the  conduct 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


349 


and  character  of  Britain,  with  respect  to  America,  in  a  clear 
and  striking  point  of  light. 

The  memorial,  speaking  of  the  refusal  of  the  British  court 
to  meet  in  conference  with  commissioners  from  the  United 
States,  who  were  to  be  considered  as  independent  during 
the  time  of  the  conference,  says, 

"  It  is  a  thing  very  extraordinary  and  even  ridiculous,  that  the 
court  of  London,  who  treats  the  colonies  as  independent,  not  only 
in  acting,  but  of  right,  during  the  war,  should  have  a  repugnance 
to  treat  them  as  such  only  in  acting  during  a  truce,  or  suspension 
of  hostilities.  The  convention  of  Saratoga  ;  the  reputing  general 
Burgoyne  as  a  lawful  prisoner,  in  order  to  suspend  his  trial  ;  the 
exchange  and  liberation  of  other  prisoners  made  from  the  colonies  ; 
the  having  named  commissioners  to  go  and  supplicate  the  Ameri- 
cans, at  their  own  doors,  request  peace  of  them,  and  treat  with 
them  and  the  congress  :  and,  finally,  by  a  thousand  other  acts  of 
this  sort,  authorized  by  the  court  of  London,  which  have  been, 
and  are  true  signs  of  the  acknowledgment  of  their  independence. 

"  In  aggravation  of  all  the  foregoing,  at  the  same  time  the  British 
cabinet  answered  the  king  of  Spain  in  the  terms  already  men- 
tioned, they  were  insinuating  themselves  at  the  court  of  France  by 
means  of  secret  emissaries,  and  making  very  great  offers  to  her, 
to  abandon  the  colonies  and  make  peace  with  England.  But  there 
is  yet  more  ;  for  at  this  same  time  the  English  ministry  were 
treating,  by  means  of  another  certain  emissary,  with  Dr.  Franklin, 
minister  plenipotentiary  from  the  colonies,  residing  at  Paris,  to 
whom  they  made  various  proposals  to  disunite  them  from  France, 
and  accommodate  matters  with  England. 

"  From  what  has  been  observed,  it  evidently  follows,  that  the 
whole  of  the  British  politics  was,  to  disunite  the  two  courts  of 
Paris  and  Madrid,  by  means  of  the  suggestions  and  offers  which 
she  separately  made  to  them  ;  and  also  to  separate  the  colonies 
from  their  treaties  and  engagements  entered  into  with  France,  and 
induce  them  to  arm  against  the  house  of  Bourbon,  or  more  prob- 
ably to  oppress  them  when  they  found,  from  breaking  their  engage- 
ments, that  they  stood  alone  and  without  protection. 

"  This,  therefore,  is  the  net  they  laid  for  the  American  states  ; 
that  is  to  say,  to  tempt  them  with  flattering  and  very  magnificent 
promises  to  come  to  an  accommodation  with  them,  exclusive  of 


350 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1782 


any  intervention  of  Spain  or  France,  that  the  British  ministry 
might  always  remain  the  arbiters  of  the  fate  of  the  colonies. 

"  But  the  CathoHc  king  (the  king  of  Spain)  faithful  on  the  one 
part  of  the  engagements  which  bind  him  to  the  Most  Christian 
king  (the  king  of  France)  his  nephew  ;  just  and  upright  on  the 
other,  to  his  own  subjects,  whom  he  ought  to  protect  and  guard 
against  so  many  insults  ;  and  finally,  full  of  humanity  and  com- 
passion for  the  Americans  and  other  individuals  who  suffer  in  the 
present  war  ;  he  is  determined  to  pursue  and  prosecute  it,  and  to 
make  all  the  efforts  in  his  power,  until  he  can  obtain  a  solid  and 
permanent  peace,  with  full  and  satisfactory  securities  that  it  shall 
be  observed." 

Thus  far  the  memorial ;  a  translation  of  vi^hich  into  Eng- 
lish, may  be  seen  in  full,  under  the  head  of  State  Papers,  in 
the  Annual  Register,  for  1779,  p.  367. 

The  extracts  I  have  here  given,  serve  to  show  the  various 
endeavors  and  contrivances  of  the  enemy,  to  draw  France 
from  her  connexion  with  America,  and  to  prevail  on  her  to 
make  a  separate  peace  with  England,  leaving  America  totally 
out  of  the  question,  and  at  the  mercy  of  a  merciless,  un- 
principled enemy.  The  opinion,  likewise,  which  Spain  has 
formed  of  the  British  cabinet's  character  for  meanness  and 
perfidiousness,  is  so  exactly  the  opinion  of  America  respect- 
ing it,  that  the  memorial,  in  this  instance,  contains  our 
own  statements  and  language ;  for  people,  however  remote, 
who  think  alike,  will  unavoidably  speak  alike. 

Thus  we  see  the  insidious  use  which  Britain  endeavoured 
to  make  of  the  propositions  of  peace  under  the  mediation  of 
Spain.  I  shall  now  proceed  to  the  second  proposition  under 
the  mediation  of  the  emperor  of  Germany  and  the  empress 
of  Russia  ;  the  general  outline  of  which  was,  that  a  congress 
of  the  several  powers  at  war  should  meet  at  Vienna,  in  1781, 
to  settle  preliminaries  of  peace. 

I  could  wish  myself  at  liberty  to  make  use  of  all  the  infor- 
mation which  I  am  possessed  of  on  this  subject,  but  as  there 
is  a  delicacy  in  the  matter,  I  do  not  conceive  it  prudent,  at 
least  at  present,  to  make  references  and  quotations  in  the 
same  manner  as  I  have  done  with  respect  to  the  mediation 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


of  Spain,  who  published  the  whole  proceedings  herself ;  and 
therefore,  what  comes  from  me,  on  this  part  of  the  busi- 
ness, must  rest  on  my  own  credit  with  the  public,  assuring 
them,  that  when  the  whole  proceedings,  relative  to  the  pro- 
posed congress  of  Vienna  shall  appear,  they  will  find  my 
account  not  only  true,  but  studiously  moderate. 

We  know  at  the  time  this  mediation  was  on  the  carpet, 
the  expectation  of  the  British  king  and  ministry  ran  high 
with  respect  to  the  conquest  of  America.  The  English 
packet  which  was  taken  with  the  mail  on  board,  and  carried 
into  rOrient,  in  France,  contained  letters  from  lord  G.  Ger- 
maine  to  Sir  Henry  Clinton,  which  expressed  in  the  fullest 
terms  the  ministerial  idea  of  a  total  conquest.  Copies  of 
those  letters  were  sent  to  congress  and  published  in  the 
newspapers  of  last  year.  Colonel  [John]  Laurens  brought 
over  the  originals,  some  of  which,  signed  in  the  hand- 
writing of  the  then  secretary,  Germaine,  are  now  in  my 
possession. 

Filled  with  these  high  ideas,  nothing  could  be  more  in- 
solent towards  America  than  the  language  of  the  British  court 
on  the  proposed  mediation.  A  peace  with  France  and  Spain 
she  anxiously  solicited  ;  but  America,  as  before,  was  to  be 
left  to  her  mercy,  neither  would  she  hear  any  proposition 
for  admitting  an  agent  from  the  United  States  into  the  con- 
gress of  Vienna. 

On  the  other  hand,  France,  with  an  open,  noble  and 
manly  determination,  and  the  fidelity  of  a  good  ally,  would 
hear  no  proposition  for  a  separate  peace,  nor  even  meet  in 
congress  at  Vienna,  without  an  agent  from  America:  and 
likewise  that  the  independent  character  of  the  United 
States,  represented  by  the  agent,  should  be  fully  and  un- 
equivocally defined  and  settled  before  any  conference  should 
be  entered  on.  The  reasoning  of  the  court  of  France  on  the 
several  propositions  of  the  two  imperial  courts,  which  relate 
to  us,  is  rather  in  the  style  of  an  American  than  an  ally,  and 
she  advocated  the  cause  of  America  as  if  she  had  been 
America  herself. — Thus  the  second  mediation,  Hke  the  first, 
.proved  ineffectual. 


352 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [17S2 


But  since  that  time,  a  reverse  of  fortune  has  overtaken 
the  British  arms,  and  all  their  high  expectations  are  dashed 
to  the  ground.  The  noble  exertions  to  the  southward 
under  general  [Nathaniel]  Greene  ;  the  successful  operations 
of  the  allied  arms  in  the  Chesapeake ;  the  loss  of  most  of 
their  islands  in  the  West-Indies,  and  Minorca  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean ;  the  persevering  spirit  of  Spain  against  Gibraltar; 
the  expected  capture  of  Jamaica ;  the  failure  of  making  a 
separate  peace  with  Holland,  and  the  expense  of  an  hundred 
millions  sterling,  by  which  all  these  fine  losses  were  obtained, 
have  read  them  a  loud  lesson  of  disgraceful  misfortune,  and 
necessity  has  called  on  them  to  change  their  ground. 

In  this  situation  of  confusion  and  despair,  their  present 
councils  have  no  fixed  character.  It  is  now  the  hurricane 
months  of  British  politics.  Every  day  seems  to  have  a 
storm  of  its  own,  and  they  are  scudding  under  the  bare 
poles  of  hope.  Beaten,  but  not  humble;  condemned,  but 
not  penitent ;  they  act  like  men  trembling  at  fate  and  catch- 
ing at  a  straw.  From  this  convulsion,  in  the  entrails  of 
their  politics,  it  is  more  than  probable,  that  the  mountain 
groaning  in  labour,  will  bring  forth  a  mouse,  as  to  its  size, 
and  a  monster  in  its  make.  They  will  try  on  America  the 
same  insidious  arts  they  tried  on  France  and  Spain. 

We  sometimes  experience  sensations  to  which  language 
is  not  equal.  The  conception  is  too  bulky  to  be  born  alive, 
and  in  the  torture  of  thinking,  we  stand  dumb.  Our  feel- 
ings, imprisoned  by  their  magnitude,  find  no  way  out — and, 
in  the  struggle  of  expression,  every  finger  tries  to  be  a 
tongue.  The  machinery  of  the  body  seems  too  little  for 
the  mind,  and  we  look  about  for  helps  to  show  our  thoughts 
by.  Such  must  be  the  sensation  of  America,  whenever 
Britain,  teeming  with  corruption,  shall  propose  to  her  to 
sacrifice  her  faith. 

But,  exclusive  of  the  wickedness,  there  is  a  personal 
offence  contained  in  every  such  attempt.  It  is  calling  us 
villains  :  for  no  man  asks  the  other  to  act  the  villain  unless 
he  believes  him  inclined  to  be  one.  No  man  attempts  to 
seduce  the  truly  honest  woman.    It  is  the  supposed  loose- 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


353 


ness  of  her  mind  that  starts  the  thoughts  of  seduction,  and 
he  who  offers  it  calls  her  a  prostitute.  Our  pride  is  always 
hurt  by  the  same  propositions  which  offend  our  principles  ; 
for  when  we  are  shocked  at  the  crime,  we  are  wounded  by 
the  suspicion  of  our  compliance. 

Could  I  convey  a  thought  that  might  serve  to  regulate 
the  public  mind,  I  would  not  make  the  interest  of  the 
alliance  the  basis  of  defending  it.  All  the  world  are  moved 
by  interest,  and  it  affords  them  nothing  to  boast  of.  But  I 
would  go  a  step  higher,  and  defend  it  on  the  ground  of 
honour  and  principle.  That  our  public  affairs  have  flour- 
ished under  the  alliance — that  it  was  wisely  made,  and  has 
been  nobly  executed— that  by  its  assistance  we  are  enabled 
to  preserve  our  country  from  conquest,  and  expel  those  who 
sought  our  destruction — that  it  is  our  true  interest  to  main- 
tain it  unimpaired,  and  that  while  we  do  so  no  enemy  can 
conquer  us,  are  matters  which  experience  has  taught  us,  and 
the  common  good  of  ourselves,  abstracted  from  principles 
of  faith  and  honour,  would  lead  us  to  maintain  the  con- 
nexion. 

But  over  and  above  the  mere  letter  of  the  alliance,  we 
have  been  nobly  and  generously  treated,  and  have  had  the 
same  respect  and  attention  paid  to  us,  as  if  we  had  been  an 
old  established  country.  To  oblige  and  be  obliged  is  fair 
work  among  mankind,  and  we  want  an  opportunity  of  show- 
ing to  the  world  that  we  are  a  people  sensible  of  kindness 
and  worthy  of  confidence.  Character  is  to  us,  in  our  present 
circumstances,  of  more  importance  than  interest.  We  area 
young  nation,  just  stepping  upon  the  stage  of  public  life, 
and  the  eye  of  the  world  is  upon  us  to  see  how  we  act.  We 
have  an  enemy  who  is  watching  to  destroy  our  reputation, 
and  who  will  go  any  length  to  gain  some  evidence  against 
us,  that  may  serve  to  render  our  conduct  suspected,  and  our 
character  odious  ;  because,  could  she  accomplish  this,  wicked 
as  it  is,  the  world  would  withdraw  from  us,  as  from  a  people 
not  to  be  trusted,  and  our  task  would  then  become 
difificult. 

There  is  nothing  which  sets  the  character  of  a  nation  in  a 

VOL.  I — 23 


354 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


higher  or  lower  light  with  others,  than  the  faithfully  fulfil- 
ling, or  perfidiously  breaking,  of  treaties.  They  are  things 
not  to  be  tampered  with  :  and  should  Britain,  which  seems 
very  probable,  propose  to  seduce  America  into  such  an  act  of 
baseness,  it  would  merit  from  her  some  mark  of  unusual 
detestation.  It  is  one  of  those  extraordinary  instances  in 
which  we  ought  not  to  be  contented  with  the  bare  negative 
of  congress,  because  it  is  an  affront  on  the  multitude  as  well 
as  on  the  government.  It  goes  on  the  supposition  that  the 
public  are  not  honest  men,  and  that  they  may  be  managed 
by  contrivance,  though  they  cannot  be  conquered  by  arms. 
But,  let  the  world  and  Britain  know,  that  we  are  neither  to 
be  bought  nor  sold  ;  that  our  mind  is  great  and  fixed  ;  our 
prospect  clear  ;  and  that  we  will  support  our  character  as 
firmly  as  our  independence. 

But  I  will  go  still  further;  general  Conway,  who  made  the 
motion,  in  the  British  parliament,  for  discontinuing  offensive 
war  in  America,  is  a  gentleman  of  an  amiable  character.' 
We  have  no  personal  quarrel  with  him.  But  he  feels  not  as 
we  feel ;  he  is  not  in  our  situation,  and  that  alone,  without 
any  other  explanation,  is  enough. 

The  British  parliament  suppose  they  have  many  friends  in 
America,  and  that,  when  all  chance  of  conquest  is  over,  they 
will  be  able  to  draw  her  from  her  alliance  with  France. 
Now,  if  I  have  any  conception  of  the  human  heart,  they  will 
fail  in  this  more  than  in  any  thing  that  they  have  yet  tried. 

This  part  of  the  business  is  not  a  question  of  policy  only, 
but  of  honour  and  honesty  ;  and  the  proposition  will  have 

'  Henry  Seymour  Conway,  M.  P.  for  St.  Edmund's  Bury  (born  1720),  had 
been  groom  of  the  bedchamber  to  George  II.,  and  to  George  III.  until  1764. 
He  had  moved  the  repeal  of  the  Stamp  Act,  while  in  the  Privy  Council  of 
Rockingham.  He  was  afterwards  joint  Secretary  of  State  with  Grafton,  resign- 
ing in  1772.  His  fidelity  to  the  Americans  made  him  odious  to  the  king.  He 
was  Governor  of  Jersey  and  defended  it  in  1779.  "General  Conway,"  writes 
Horace  Walpole,  "  is  in  the  midst  of  the  storm  in  a  nutshell,  and  I  know  will 
defend  himself  as  if  he  was  in  the  strongest  fortification  in  F  landers.  I  believe 
the  Court  would  sacrifice  the  island  to  sacrifice  him."  (Letter  to  Sir  H.  Mann, 
July  7,  1779.)  Conway's  motion  to  discontinue  the  war  in  America  passed  Feb. 
27,  1782,  by  234  to  215. — Editor. 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


355 


in  it  something  so  visibly  low  and  base,  that  their  partisans, 
if  they  have  any,  will  be  ashamed  of  it.  Men  are  often  hurt 
by  a  mean  action  who  are  not  startled  at  a  wicked  one,  and 
this  will  be  such  a  confession  of  inability,  such  a  declaration 
of  servile  thinking,  that  the  scandal  of  it  will  ruin  all  their 
hopes. 

In  short,  we  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  go  on  with  vigour 
and  determination.  The  enemy  is  yet  in  our  country. 
They  hold  New- York,  Charleston,  and  Savannah,  and  the 
very  being  in  those  places  is  an  offence,  and  a  part  of  offen- 
sive war,  and  until  they  can  be  driven  from  them,  or  cap- 
tured in  them,  it  would  be  folly  in  us  to  listen  to  an  idle 
tale.  I  take  it  for  granted  that  the  British  ministry  are 
sinking  under  the  impossibility  of  carrying  on  the  war.  Let 
them  then  come  to  a  fair  and  open  peace  with  France, 
Spain,  Holland  and  America,  in  the  manner  they  ought  to 
do ;  but  until  then,  we  can  have  nothing  to  say  to  them. 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  May  22,  1782. 

A  SUPERNUMERARY  CRISIS. 

TO  SIR  GUY  CARLETON.' 

It  is  the  nature  of  compassion  to  associate  with  misfor- 
tune ;  and  I  address  this  to  you  in  behalf  even  of  an  enemy, 
a  captain  in  the  British  service,  now  on  his  way  to  the  head- 
quarters of  the  American  army,  and  unfortunately  doomed 
to  death  for  a  crime  not  his  own.  A  sentence  so  extraordi- 
nary, an  execution  so  repugnant  to  every  human  sensation, 
ought  never  to  be  told  without  the  circumstances  which 
produced  it :  and  as  the  destined  victim  is  yet  in  existence, 
and  in  your  hands  rests  his  life  or  death,  I  shall  briefly  state 
the  case,  and  the  melancholy  consequence. 

Captain  Huddy,  of  the  Jersey  militia,  was  attacked  in  a 

'  Sir  Guy  Carleton — a  humane  and  just  man — had  succeeded  Sir  Henry  Clin- 
ton at  New  York. — Editor. 


356 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1782 


small  fort  on  Tom's  River,  by  a  party  of  refugees  in  the 
British  pay  and  service,  was  made  prisoner,  together  with  his 
company,  carried  to  New-York  and  lodged  in  the  provost  of 
that  city :  about  three  weeks  after  which,  he  was  taken  out 
of  the  provost  down  to  the  water-side,  put  into  a  boat,  and 
brought  again  upon  the  Jersey  shore,  and  there,  contrary  to 
the  practice  of  all  nations  but  savages,  was  hung  up  on  a 
tree,  and  left  hanging  till  found  by  our  people  who  took 
him  down  and  buried  him. 

The  inhabitants  of  that  part  of  the  country  where  the 
murder  was  committed,  sent  a  deputation  to  general  Wash- 
ington with  a  full  and  certified  statement  of  the  fact.  Struck, 
as  every  human  breast  must  be,  with  such  brutish  outrage^ 
and  determined  both  to  punish  and  prevent  it  for  the  future, 
the  general  represented  the  case  to  general  Clinton,  who 
then  commanded,  and  demanded  that  the  refugee  officer 
who  ordered  and  attended  the  execution,  and  whose  name 
is  Lippincut,  should  be  delivered  up  as  a  murderer ;  and  in 
case  of  refusal,  that  the  person  of  some  British  officer  should 
suffer  in  his  stead.  The  demand,  though  not  refused,  has 
not  been  complied  with ;  and  the  melancholy  lot  (not  by 
selection,  but  by  casting  lots)  has  fallen  upon  captain  Asgill, 
of  the  guards,  who,  as  I  have  already  mentioned,  is  on  his 
way  from  Lancaster  to  camp,  a  martyr  to  the  general  wicked- 
ness of  the  cause  he  engaged  in,  and  the  ingratitude  of  those 
whom  he  served. 

The  first  reflection  which  arises  on  this  black  business  is, 
what  sort  of  men  must  Englishmen  be,  and  what  sort  of 
order  and  discipline  do  they  preserve  in  their  army,  when  in 
the  immediate  place  of  their  head-quarters,  and  under  the 
eye  and  nose  of  their  commander-in-chief,  a  prisoner  can  be 
taken  at  pleasure  from  his  confinement,  and  his  death  made 
a  matter  of  sport. 

The  history  of  the  most  savage  Indians  does  not  produce 
instances  exactly  of  this  kind.  They,  at  least,  have  a  for- 
mality in  their  punishments.  With  them  it  is  the  horridness 
of  revenge,  but  with  your  army  it  is  a  still  greater  crime,  the 
horridness  of  diversion. 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


357 


The  British  generals  who  have  succeeded  each  other,  from 
the  time  of  general  Gage  to  yourself,  have  all  affected  to 
speak  in  language  that  they  have  no  right  to.  In  their 
proclamations,  their  addresses,  their  letters  to  general 
Washington,  and  their  supplications  to  congress  (for  they 
deserve  no  other  name)  they  talk  of  British  honour,  British 
generosity,  and  British  clemency,  as  if  those  things  were 
matters  of  fact  ;  whereas,  we  whose  eyes  are  open,  who 
speak  the  same  language  with  yourselves,  many  of  whom 
were  born  on  the  same  spot  with  you,  and  who  can  no  more 
be  mistaken  in  your  words  than  in  your  actions,  can  declare 
to  all  the  world,  that  so  far  as  our  knowledge  goes,  there  is 
not  a  more  detestable  character,  nor  a  meaner  or  more  bar- 
barous enemy,  than  the  present  British  one.  With  us,  you 
have  forfeited  all  pretensions  to  reputation,  and  it  is  only 
by  holding  you  like  a  wild  beast,  afraid  of  your  keepers, 
that  you  can  be  made  manageable.  But  to  return  to  the 
point  in  question. 

Though  I  can  think  no  man  innocent  who  has  lent  his 
hand  to  destroy  the  country  which  he  did  not  plant,  and  to 
ruin  those  that  he  could  not  enslave,  yet,  abstracted  from 
all  ideas  of  right  and  wrong  on  the  original  question,  captain 
Asgill,  in  the  present  case,  is  not  the  guilty  man.  The  vil- 
lain and  the  victim  are  here  separated  characters.  You  hold 
the  one  and  we  the  other.  You  disown,  or  affect  to  disown 
and  reprobate  the  conduct  of  Lippincut,  yet  you  give  him  a 
sanctuary ;  and  by  so  doing  you  as  effectually  become  the 
executioner  of  Asgill,  as  if  you  had  put  the  rope  on  his 
neck,  and  dismissed  him  from  the  world.  Whatever  your 
feelings  on  this  interesting  occasion  may  be  are  best  known 
to  yourself.  Within  the  grave  of  your  own  mind  lies  buried 
the  fate  of  Asgill.  He  becomes  the  corpse  of  your  will,  or 
the  survivor  of  your  justice.  Deliver  up  the  one,  and  you 
save  the  other;  withhold  the  one,  and  the  other  dies  by 
your  choice. 

On  our  part  the  case  is  exceeding  plain  ;  an  officer  has 
been  taken  from  his  confinemetit  and  murdered,  and  the  mur- 
derer is  within  your  lines.    Your  army  has  been  guilty  of  a 


358 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1782 


thousand  instances  of  equal  cruelty,  but  they  have  been 
rendered  equivocal,  and  sheltered  from  personal  detection. 
Here  the  crime  is  fixed ;  and  is  one  of  those  extraordinary 
cases  which  can  neither  be  denied  nor  palliated,  and  to 
which  the  custom  of  war  does  not  apply  ;  for  it  never  could 
be  supposed  that  such  a  brutal  outrage  would  ever  be  com- 
mitted. It  is  an  original  in  the  history  of  civilized  barbari- 
ans, and  is  truly  British. 

On  your  part  you  are  accountable  to  us  for  the  personal 
safety  of  the  prisoners  within  your  walls.  Here  can  be  no 
mistake ;  they  can  neither  be  spies  nor  suspected  as  such ; 
your  security  is  not  endangered,  nor  your  operations  sub- 
jected to  miscarriage,  by  men  immured  within  a  dungeon. 
They  differ  in  every  circumstance  from  men  in  the  field, 
and  leave  no  pretence  for  severity  of  punishment.  But  if 
to  the  dismal  condition  of  captivity  with  you  must  be 
added  the  constant  apprehensions  of  death ;  if  to  be  im- 
prisoned is  so  nearly  to  be  entombed  ;  and  if,  after  all,  the 
murderers  are  to  be  protected,  and  thereby  the  crime  en- 
couraged, wherein  do  you  differ  from  [American]  Indians 
either  in  conduct  or  character? 

We  can  have  no  idea  of  your  honour,  or  your  justice,  in 
any  future  transaction,  of  what  nature  it  may  be,  while  you 
shelter  within  your  lines  an  outrageous  murderer,  and  sacri- 
fice in  his  stead  an  officer  of  your  own.  If  you  have  no 
regard  to  us,  at  least  spare  the  blood  which  it  is  your  duty 
to  save.  Whether  the  punishment  will  be  greater  on  him, 
who,  in  this  case,  innocently  dies,  or  on  him  whom  sad 
necessity  forces  to  retaliate,  is,  in  the  nicety  of  sensation,  an 
undecided  question  ?  It  rests  with  you  to  prevent  the  suf- 
ferings of  both.  You  have  nothing  to  do  but  to  give  up  the 
murderer,  and  the  matter  ends. 

But  to  protect  him,  be  he  who  he  may,  is  to  patronise  his 
crime,  and  to  trifle  it  off  by  frivolous  and  unmeaning  in- 
quiries, is  to  promote  it.  There  is  no  declaration  you  can 
make,  nor  promise  you  can  give  that  will  obtain  credit.  It 
is  the  man  and  not  the  apology  that  is  demanded. 

You  see  yourself  pressed  on  all  sides  to  spare  the  life  of 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


359 


your  own  officer,  for  die  he  will  if  you  withhold  justice.  The 
murder  of  captain  Huddy  is  an  ofiFence  not  to  be  borne  with, 
and  there  is  no  security  which  we  can  have,  that  such  actions 
or  similar  ones  shall  not  be  repeated,  but  by  making  the 
punishment  fall  upon  yourselves.  To  destroy  the  last  se- 
curity of  captivity,  and  to  take  the  unarmed,  the  unresisting 
prisoner  to  private  and  sportive  execution,  is  carrying  bar- 
barity too  high  for  silence.  The  evil  must  be  put  an  end  to  ; 
and  the  choice  of  persons  rests  with  you.  But  if  your  at- 
tachment to  the  guilty  is  stronger  than  to  the  innocent,  you 
invent  a  crime  that  must  destroy  your  character,  and  if  the 
cause  of  your  king  needs  to  be  so  supported,  for  ever  cease, 
sir,  to  torture  our  remembrance  with  the  wretched  phrases 
of  British  honour,  British  generosity,  and  British  clemency. 

From  this  melancholy  circumstance,  learn,  sir,  a  lesson  of 
morality.  The  refugees  are  men  whom  your  predecessors 
have  instructed  in  wickedness,  the  better  to  fit  them  to  their 
master's  purpose.  To  make  them  useful,  they  have  made 
them  vile,  and  the  consequence  of  their  tutored  villany  is 
now  descending  on  the  heads  of  their  encouragers.  They 
have  been  trained  like  hounds  to  the  scent  of  blood,  and 
cherished  in  every  species  of  dissolute  barbarity.  Their 
ideas  of  right  and  wrong  are  worn  away  in  the  constant 
habitude  of  repeated  infamy,  till,  like  men  practised  in 
execution,  they  feel  not  the  value  of  another's  life. 

The  task  before  you,  though  painful,  is  not  difficult ;  give 
up  the  murderer,  and  save  your  officer,  as  the  first  outset  of 
a  necessary  reformation. 

Common  Sense.' 

Philadelphia,  May  31,  1782. 

'  The  lot  fell  on  Asgill  May  27,  1782,  at  Lancaster,  Pennsylvania ;  it  will  be 
seen  by  the  date  of  this  letter  to  the  commander  at  New  York  that  it  must  have 
been  written  immediately  after  the  arrival  of  the  news  in  Philadelphia.  With 
the  rest  of  the  world  Paine  was  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  young  Asgill,  an  officer 
under  Cornwallis,  was,  by  Article  14  of  his  chief's  terms  of  capitulation,  ex- 
empted from  liability  to  any  such  danger  as  that  which  now  threatened  him. 
On  September  7th  Paine  ventured  to  write  to  Washington  a  plea  forAsgill's  life, 
saying,  "  it  will  look  much  better  hereafter."  The  truth  of  which  must  be  felt 
by  every  American  who  learns,  after  its  long  suppression,  the  ugly  fact  that  it 


36o 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1782 


THE  CRISIS. 

XII. 

TO  THE  EARL  OF  SHELBURNE.' 

My  Lord, — A  speech,  which  has  been  printed  in  several 
of  the  British  and  New-York  newspapers,  as  coming  from 
your  lordship,  in  answer  to  one  from  the  duke  of  Richmond, 
of  the  loth  of  July  last,  contains  expressions  and  opinions 
so  new  and  singular,  and  so  enveloped  in  mysterious  reason- 
ing, that  I  address  this  publication  to  you,  for  the  purpose 
of  giving  them  a  free  and  candid  examination.  The  speech 
that  I  allude  to  is  in  these  words: 

"  His  lordship  said,  it  had  been  mentioned  in  another  place,  that 
he  had  been  guilty  of  inconsistency.  To  clear  himself  of  this,  he 
asserted  that  he  still  held  the  same  principles  in  respect  to  Ameri- 
can independence  which  he  at  first  imbibed.  He  had  been,  and 
yet  was  of  opinion,  whenever  the  parliament  of  Great  Britain 
acknowledges  that  point,  the  sun  of  England's  glory  is  set  forever. 
Such  were  the  sentiments  he  possessed  on  a  former  day,  and  such 
the  sentiments  he  continued  to  hold  at  this  hour.  It  was  the 
opinion  of  lord  Chatham,  as  well  as  many  other  able  statesmen. 
Other  noble  lords,  however,  think  differently,  and  as  the  majority 
of  the  cabinet  support  them,  he  acquiesced  in  the  measure,  dis- 
senting from  the  idea  ;  and  the  point  is  settled  for  bringing  the 
matter  into  the  full  discussion  of  parliament,  where  it  will  be 
candidly,  fairly,  and  impartially  debated.  The  independence  of 
America  would  end  in  the  ruin  of  England  ;  and  that  a  peace 
patched  up  with  France,  would  give  that  proud  enemy  the  means 

was  only  after  a  protest  from  the  court  of  France,  whose  honor  was  also  involved, 
that  Captain  Asgill  was  released. 

It  should  be  added  that  the  guilt  of  Captain  Lippencott  was  strenuously  denied, 
and  that  the  facts  have  never  been  ascertained. — Editor. 

'  Afterwards  Lord  Lansdowne,  whose  friendship  Paine  enjoyed  when  in  Eng- 
land some  years  later.  Writing  to  Jefferson,  March  12,  1789,  Paine  says  :  "I 
believe  I  am  not  so  much  in  the  good  graces  of  the  Marquis  of  Lansdowne  as  I 
used  to  be — I  do  not  answer  his  purpose.  He  was  always  talking  of  a  sort  of 
reconnection  of  England  and  America,  and  my  coldness  and  reserve  on  this 
.subject  checked  communication." — Editor. 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


361 


of  yet  trampling  on  this  country.  The  sun  of  England's  glory  he 
wished  not  to  see  set  forever  ;  he  looked  for  a  spark  at  least  to  be 
left,  which  might  in  time  light  us  up  to  a  new  day.  But  if  inde- 
pendence was  to  be  granted,  if  parliament  deemed  that  measure 
prudent,  he  foresaw,  in  his  own  mind,  that  England  was  undone. 
He  wished  to  God  that  he  had  been  deputed  to  congress,  that  he 
might  plead  the  cause  of  that  country  as  well  as  of  this,  and  that 
he  might  exercise  whatever  powers  he  possessed  as  an  orator,  to 
save  both  from  ruin,  in  a  conviction  to  congress,  that,  if  their 
independence  was  signed,  their  liberties  were  gone  forever. 

"  Peace,  his  lordship  added,  was  a  desirable  object,  but  it  must 
be  an  honorable  peace,  and  not  an  humiliating  one,  dictated  by 
France,  or  insisted  on  by  America.  It  was  very  true,  that  this 
kingdom  was  not  in  a  flourishing  state,  it  was  impoverished  by 
war.  But  if  we  were  not  rich,  it  was  evident  that  France  was 
poor.  If  we  were  straitened  in  our  finances,  the  enemy  were 
exhausted  in  their  resources.  This  was  a  great  empire  ;  it 
abounded  with  brave  men,  who  were  able  and  willing  to  fight  in 
a  common  cause  ;  the  language  of  humiliation  should  not,  there- 
fore, be  the  language  of  Great  Britain.  His  lordship  said,  that  he 
was  not  afraid  nor  ashamed  of  those  expressions  going  to  America. 
There  were  numbers,  great  numbers  there,  who  were  of  the  same 
way  of  thinking,  in  respect  to  that  country  being  dependant  on 
this,  and  who,  with  his  lordship,  perceived  ruin  and  independence 
linked  together." 

Thus  far  the  speech  ;  on  which  I  remark — That  his  lord- 
ship is  a  total  stranger  to  the  mind  and  sentiments  of  Amer- 
ica ;  that  he  has  wrapped  himself  up  in  fond  delusion,  that 
something  less  than  independence,  may,  under  his  adminis- 
tration, be  accepted  ;  and  he  wishes  himself  sent  to  congress, 
to  prove  the  most  extraordinary  of  all  doctrines,  which  is, 
that  independence,  the  sublimest  of  all  human  conditions,  is 
loss  of  liberty. 

In  answer  to  which  we  may  say,  that  in  order  to  know 
what  the  contrary  word  dependance  means,  we  have  only  to 
look  back  to  those  years  of  severe  humiliation,  when  the 
mildest  of  all  petitions  could  obtain  no  other  notice  than  the 
haughtiest  of  all  insults  ;  and  when  the  base  terms  of  uncon- 
ditional submission  were  demanded,  or  undistinguishable 


362  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1782 


destruction  threatened.  It  is  nothing  to  us  that  the  minis- 
try have  been  changed,  for  they  may  be  changed  again.  The 
guilt  of  a  government  is  the  crime  of  a  whole  country ;  and 
the  nation  that  can,  though  but  for  a  moment,  think  and  act 
as  England  has  done,  can  never  afterwards  be  believed  or 
trusted.  There  are  cases  in  which  it  is  as  impossible  to 
restore  character  to  life,  as  it  is  to  recover  the  dead.  It  is  a 
phoenix  that  can  expire  but  once,  and  from  whose  ashes 
there  is  no  resurrection.  Some  offences  are  of  such  a  slight 
composition,  that  they  reach  no  further  than  the  temper, 
and  are  created  or  cured  by  a  thought.  But  the  sin  of  Eng- 
land has  struck  the  heart  of  America,  and  nature  has  not 
left  in  our  power  to  say  we  can  forgive. 

Your  lordship  wishes  for  an  opportunity  to  plead  before 
congress  the  cause  of  England  and  America,  and  to  save,  as 
you  say,  both  from  ruin. 

That  the  country,  which,  for  more  than  seven  years  has 
sought  our  destruction,  should  now  cringe  to  solicit  our  pro- 
tection, is  adding  the  wretchedness  of  disgrace  to  the  misery 
of  disappointment ;  and  if  England  has  the  least  spark  of 
supposed  honour  left,  that  spark  must  be  darkened  by  ask- 
ing, and  extinguished  by  receiving,  the  smallest  favor  from 
America ;  for  the  criminal  who  owes  his  life  to  the  grace  and 
mercy  of  the  injured,  is  more  executed  by  living,  than  he 
who  dies. 

But  a  thousand  pleadings,  even  from  your  lordship,  can 
have  no  effect.  Honour,  interest,  and  every  sensation  of  the 
heart,  would  plead  against  you.  We  are  a  people  who  think 
not  as  you  think ;  and  what  is  equally  true,  you  cannot  feel 
as  we  feel.  The  situations  of  the  two  countries  are  exceed- 
ingly different.  Ours  has  been  the  seat  of  war;  yours  has 
seen  nothing  of  it.  The  most  wanton  destruction  has  been 
committed  in  our  sight ;  the  most  insolent  barbarity  has 
been  acted  on  our  feelings.  We  can  look  round  and  see  the 
remains  of  burnt  and  destroyed  houses,  once  the  fair  fruit 
of  hard  industry,  and  now  the  striking  monuments  of  Brit- 
ish brutality.  We  walk  over  the  dead  whom  we  loved,  in 
every  part  of  America,  and  remember  by  whom  they  fell. 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


There  is  scarcely  a  village  but  brings  to  life  some  melan- 
choly thought,  and  reminds  us  of  what  we  have  suffered,  and 
of  those  we  have  lost  by  the  inhumanity  of  Britain.  A 
thousand  images  arise  to  us,  which,  from  situation,  you 
cannot  see,  and  are  accompanied  by  as  many  ideas  which 
you  cannot  know ;  and  therefore  your  supposed  system  of 
reasoning  would  apply  to  nothing,  and  all  your  expectations 
die  of  themselves. 

The  question  whether  England  shall  accede  to  the  inde- 
pendence of  America,  and  which  your  lordship  says  is  to 
undergo  a  parliamentary  discussion,  is  so  very  simple,  and 
composed  of  so  few  cases,  that  it  scarcely  needs  a  debate. 

It  is  the  only  way  out  of  an  expensive  and  ruinous  war, 
which  has  no  object,  and  without  which  acknowledgment 
there  can  be  no  peace. 

But  your  lordship  says,  the  sun  of  Great  Britain  will  set 
whenever  she  acknowledges  the  independence  of  America. — 
Whereas  the  metaphor  would  have  been  strictly  just,  to 
have  left  the  sun  wholly  out  of  the  figure,  and  have  ascribed 
her  not  acknowledging  it  to  the  influence  of  the  moon. 

But  the  expression,  if  true,  is  the  greatest  confession  of 
disgrace  that  could  be  made,  and  furnishes  America  with 
the  highest  notions  of  sovereign  independent  importance. 
Mr.  Wedderburne,  about  the  year  1776,  made  use  of  an  idea 
of  much  the  same  kind, — Relinquish  America  I  says  he — 
What  is  it  but  to  desire  a  giant  to  shrink  spontaneously  into  a 
dwarf. 

Alas !  are  those  people  who  call  themselves  Englishmen, 
of  so  little  internal  consequence,  that  when  America  is  gone, 
or  shuts  her  eyes  upon  them,  their  sun  is  set,  they  can  shine 
no  more,  but  grope  about  in  obscurity,  and  contract  into 
insignificant  animals?  Was  America,  then,  the  giant  of  the 
empire,  and  England  only  her  dwarf  in  waiting !  Is  the 
case  so  strangely  altered,  that  those  who  once  thought  we 
could  not  live  without  them,  are  now  brought  to  declare 
that  they  cannot  exist  without  us  ?  Will  they  tell  to  the 
world,  and  that  from  their  first  minister  of  state,  that  America 
is  their  all  in  all ;  that  it  is  by  her  importance  only  that  they 


364 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1782 


<;an  live,  and  breathe,  and  have  a  being?  Will  they,  who 
long  since  threatened  to  bring  us  to  their  feet,  bow  them- 
selves to  ours,  and  own  that  without  us  they  are  not  a 
nation  ?  Are  they  become  so  unqualified  to  debate  on  in- 
dependence, that  they  have  lost  all  idea  of  it  themselves, 
and  are  calling  to  the  rocks  and  mountains  of  America  to 
cover  their  insignificance  ?  Or,  if  America  is  lost,  is  it  manly 
to  sob  over  it  like  a  child  for  its  rattle,  and  invite  the 
laughter  of  the  world  by  declarations  of  disgrace  ?  Surely, 
a  more  consistent  line  of  conduct  would  be  to  bear  it  with- 
out complaint;  and  to  show  that  England,  without  America, 
can  preserve  her  independence,  and  a  suitable  rank  with 
other  European  powers.  You  were  not  contented  while 
you  had  her,  and  to  weep  for  her  now  is  childish. 

But  lord  Shelburne  thinks  something  may  yet  be  done. 
What  that  something  is,  or  how  it  is  to  be  accomplished,  is  a 
matter  in  obscurity.  By  arms  there  is  no  hope.  The  ex- 
perience of  nearly  eight  years,  with  the  expense  of  an  hundred 
million  pounds  sterling,  and  the  loss  of  two  armies,  must 
positively  decide  that  point.  Besides,  the  British  have  lost 
their  interest  in  America  with  the  disaffected.  Every  part 
of  it  has  been  tried.  There  is  no  new  scene  left  for  delu- 
sion :  and  the  thousands  who  have  been  ruined  by  adhering 
to  them,  and  have  now  to  quit  the  settlements  which  they 
had  acquired,  and  be  conveyed  like  transports  to  cultivate 
the  deserts  of  Augustine  and  Nova-Scotia,  has  put  an  end 
to  all  further  expectations  of  aid. 

If  you  cast  your  eyes  on  the  people  of  England,  what 
have  they  to  console  themselves  with  for  the  millions  ex- 
pended ?  Or,  what  encouragement  is  there  left  to  continue 
throwing  good  money  after  bad  ?  America  can  carry  on  the 
war  for  ten  years  longer,  and  all  the  charges  of  government 
included,  for  less  than  you  can  defray  the  charges  of  war 
and  government  for  one  year.  And  I,  who  know  both 
countries,  know  well,  that  the  people  of  America  can  afford 
to  pay  their  share  of  the  expense  much  better  than  the 
people  of  England  can.  Besides,  it  is  their  own  estates  and 
property,  their  own  rights,  liberties  and  government,  that 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


they  are  defending  ;  and  were  they  not  to  do  it,  they  would 
deserve  to  lose  all,  and  none  would  pity  them.  The  fault 
would  be  their  own,  and  their  punishment  just. 

The  British  army  in  America  care  not  how  long  the  war 
lasts.  They  enjoy  an  easy  and  indolent  life.  They  fatten 
on  the  folly  of  one  country  and  the  spoils  of  another ;  and, 
between  their  plunder  and  their  prey,  may  go  home  rich. 
But  the  case  is  very  different  with  the  laboring  farmer,  the 
working  tradesman,  and  the  necessitous  poor  in  England, 
the  sweat  of  whose  brow  goes  day  after  day  to  feed,  in 
prodigality  and  sloth,  the  army  that  is  robbing  both  them 
and  us.  Removed  from  the  eye  of  that  country  that  sup- 
ports them,  and  distant  from  the  government  that  employs 
them,  they  cut  and  carve  for  themselves,  and  there  is  none 
to  call  them  to  account. 

But  England  will  be  ruined,  says  lord  Shelburne,  if 
America  is  independent. 

Then  I  say,  is  England  already  ruined,  for  America  is 
already  independent :  and  if  lord  Shelburne  will  not  allow 
this,  he  immediately  denies  the  fact  which  he  infers.  Be- 
sides, to  make  England  the  mere  creature  of  America,  is 
paying  too  great  a  compliment  to  us,  and  too  little  to  him- 
self. 

But  the  declaration  is  a  rhapsody  of  inconsistency.  For 
to  say,  as  lord  Shelburne  has  numberless  times  said,  that 
the  war  against  America  is  ruinous,  and  yet  to  continue  the 
prosecution  of  that  ruinous  war  for  the  purpose  of  avoid- 
ing ruin,  is  a  language  which  cannot  be  understood.  Neither 
is  it  possible  to  see  how  the  independence  of  America  is 
to  accomplish  the  ruin  of  England  after  the  war  is  over,  and 
yet  not  affect  it  before.  America  cannot  be  more  inde- 
pendent of  her,  nor  a  greater  enemy  to  her,  hereafter  than 
she  now  is ;  nor  can  England  derive  less  advantages  from 
her  than  at  present :  why  then  is  ruin  to  follow  in  the  best 
state  of  the  case,  and  not  in  the  worst?  And  if  not  in  the 
worst,  why  is  it  to  follow  at  all  ? 

That  a  nation  is  to  be  ruined  by  peace  and  commerce,  and 
fourteen  or  fifteen  millions  a-year  less  expenses  than  before,. 


366 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1782 


is  a  new  doctrine  in  politics.  We  have  heard  much  clamor 
of  national  savings  and  economy  ;  but  surely  the  true  econ- 
omy would  be,  to  save  the  whole  charge  of  a  silly,  foolish, 
and  headstrong  war ;  because,  compared  with  this,  all  other 
retrenchments  are  baubles  and  trifles. 

But  is  it  possible  that  lord  Shelburne  can  be  serious  in 
supposing  that  the  least  advantage  can  be  obtained  by  arms, 
or  that  any  advantage  can  be  equal  to  the  expense  or  the 
danger  of  attempting  it  ?  Will  not  the  capture  of  one  army 
after  another  satisfy  him,  must  all  become  prisoners  ?  Must 
England  ever  be  the  sport  of  hope,  and  the  victim  of  delu- 
sion ?  Sometimes  our  currency  was  to  fail;  another  time 
our  army  was  to  disband  ;  then  whole  provinces  were  to 
revolt.  Such  a  general  said  this  and  that ;  another  wrote  so 
and  so  ;  lord  Chatham  was  of  this  opinion  ;  and  lord  some- 
body else  of  another.  To-day  20,000  Russians  and  20  Rus- 
sian ships  of  the  line  were  to  come  ;  to-morrow  the  empress 
was  abused  without  mercy  or  decency.  Then  the  emperor 
of  Germany  was  to  be  bribed  with  a  million  of  money,  and 
the  king  of  Prussia  was  to  do  wonderful  things.  At  one 
time  it  was,  Lo  here  !  and  then  it  was,  Lo  there  !  Sometimes 
this  power,  and  sometimes  that  power,  was  to  engage  in  the 
war,  just  as  if  the  whole  world  was  mad  and  foolish  like 
Britain.  And  thus,  from  year  to  year,  has  every  straw  been 
catched  at,  and  every  Will-with-a-wisp  led  them  a  new  dance. 

This  year  a  still  newer  folly  is  to  take  place.  Lord  Shel- 
burne wishes  to  be  sent  to  congress,  and  he  thinks  that  some- 
thing may  be  done. 

Are  not  the  repeated  declarations  of  congress,  and  which 
all  America  supports,  that  they  will  not  even  hear  any  pro- 
posals whatever,  until  the  unconditional  and  unequivocal 
independence  of  America  is  recognised  ;  are  not,  I  say,  these 
declarations  answer  enough? 

But  for  England  to  receive  any  thing  from  America  now, 
after  so  many  insults,  injuries  and  outrages,  acted  towards 
us,  would  show  such  a  spirit  of  meanness  in  her,  that  we 
could  not  but  despise  her  for  accepting  it.  And  so  far 
from  lord  Shelburne's  coming  here  to  solicit  it,  it  would  be 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


the  greatest  disgrace  we  could  do  them  to  offer  it.  England 
would  appear  a  wretch  indeed,  at  this  time  of  day,  to  ask  or 
-owe  any  thing  to  the  bounty  of  America.  Has  not  the  name 
of  Englishman  blots  enough  upon  it,  without  inventing 
more?  Even  Lucifer  would  scorn  to  reign  in  heaven  by 
permission,  and  yet  an  Englishman  can  creep  for  only  an 
entrance  into  America.  Or,  has  a  land  of  liberty  so  many 
charms,  that  to  be  a  door-keeper  in  it  is  better  than  to  be  an 
English  minister  of  state? 

But  what  can  this  expected  something  be  ?  Or,  if  ob- 
tained, what  can  it  amount  to,  but  new  disgraces,  conten- 
tions and  quarrels  ?  The  people  of  America  have  for  years 
accustomed  themselves  to  think  and  speak  so  freely  and  con- 
temptuously of  English  authority,  and  the  inveteracy  is  so 
deeply  rooted,  that  a  person  invested  with  any  authority 
from  that  country,  and  attempting  to  exercise  it  here,  would 
have  the  life  of  a  toad  under  a  harrow.  They  would  look 
on  him  as  an  interloper,  to  whom  their  compassion  per- 
mitted a  residence.  He  would  be  no  more  than  the  Mungo 
of  a  farce  ;  and  if  he  disliked  that,  he  must  set  off.  It  would 
be  a  station  of  degradation,  debased  by  our  pity,  and  despised 
by  our  pride,  and  would  place  England  in  a  more  contemp- 
tible situation  than  any  she  has  yet  been  in  during  the  war. 
We  have  too  high  an  opinion  of  ourselves,  even  to  think  of 
yielding  again  the  least  obedience  to  outlandish  authority ; 
and  for  a  thousand  reasons,  England  would  be  the  last 
country  in  the  world  to  yield  it  to.  She  has  been  treacher- 
ous, and  we  know  it.  Her  character  is  gone,  and  we  have 
seen  the  funeral. 

Surely  she  loves  to  fish  in  troubled  waters,  and  drink  the 
cup  of  contention,  or  she  would  not  now  think  of  mingling 
her  affairs  with  those  of  America.  It  would  belike  a  foolish 
dotard  taking  to  his  arms  the  bride  that  despises  him,  or 
who  has  placed  on  his  head  the  ensigns  of  her  disgust.  It 
is  kissing  the  hand  that  boxes  his  ears,  and  proposing  to  re- 
new the  exchange.  The  thought  is  as  servile  as  the  war  is 
wicked,  and  shows  the  last  scene  of  the  drama  to  be  as 
inconsistent  as  the  first. 


368 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1782 


As  America  is  gone,  the  only  act  of  manhood  is  to  let  her 
go.  Your  lordship  had  no  hand  in  the  separation,  and  you 
will  gain  no  honor  by  temporising  politics.  Besides,  there 
is  something  so  exceedingly  whimsical,  unsteady,  and  even 
insincere  in  the  present  conduct  of  England,  that  she  ex- 
hibits herself  in  the  most  dishonourable  colors. 

On  the  second  of  August  last,  general  Carleton  and 
admiral  Digby  wrote  to  general  Washington  in  these  words : 

"  The  resolution  of  the  house  of  commons,  of  the  27th  of  Feb- 
ruary last,  has  been  placed  in  your  excellency's  hands,  and  intima- 
tions given  at  the  same  time  that  further  pacific  measures  were 
likely  to  follow.  Since  which,  until  the  present  time,  we  have  had 
no  direct  communications  with  England  ;  but  a  mail  is  now 
arrived,  which  brings  us  very  important  information.  We  are 
acquainted,  sir,  by  authority,  that  negotiations  for  a  general  peace 
have  already  commenced  at  Paris,  and  that  Mr.  Grenville  is 
invested  with  full  powers  to  treat  with  all  the  parties  at  war,  and 
is  now  at  Paris  in  execution  of  his  commission.  And  we  are  fur- 
ther, sir,  made  acquainted,  that  his  majesty,  in  order  to  remove  any 
obstacles  to  that  peace  which  he  so  ardently  wishes  to  restore,  has 
commanded  his  ministers  to  direct  Mr.  Grenville,  that  the  indepen- 
dence of  the  Thirteen  United  Provinces,  should  be  proposed  by  him 
in  the  first  instance,  instead  of  making  it  a  condition  of  a  general 
treaty." 

Now,  taking  your  present  measures  into  view,  and  com- 
paring them  with  the  declaration  in  this  letter,  pray  what  is 
the  word  of  your  king,  or  his  ministers,  or  the  parliament, 
good  for?  Must  we  not  look  upon  you  as  a  confederated 
body  of  faithless,  treacherous  men,  whose  assurances  are 
fraud,  and  their  language  deceit  ?  What  opinion  can  we  pos- 
sibly form  of  you,  but  that  you  are  a  lost,  abandoned,  prof- 
ligate nation,  who  sport  even  with  your  own  character,  and 
are  to  be  held  by  nothing  but  the  bayonet  or  the  halter? 

To  say,  after  this,  that  the  stm  of  Great  Britain  will  be  set 
whenever  she  acknowledges  the  independence  of  America,  when 
the  not  doing  it  is  the  unqualified  lie  of  government,  can  be 
no  other  than  the  language  of  ridicule,  the  jargon  of  incon- 


1782] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


sistency.  There  were  thousands  in  America  who  predicted 
the  delusion,  and  looked  upon  it  as  a  trick  of  treachery,  to 
take  us  from  our  guard,  and  draw  off  our  attention  from  the 
only  system  of  finance,  by  which  we  can  be  called,  or  deserve 
to  be  called,  a  sovereign,  independent  people.  The  fraud, 
on  your  part,  might  be  worth  attempting,  but  the  sacrifice 
to  obtain  it  is  too  high. 

There  are  others  who  credited  the  assurance,  because  they 
thought  it  impossible  that  men  who  had  their  characters  to 
establish,  would  begin  with  a  lie.  The  prosecution  of  the 
war  by  the  former  ministry  was  savage  and  horrid  ;  since 
which  it  has  been  mean,  trickish,  and  delusive.  The  one 
went  greedily  into  the  passion  of  revenge,  the  other  into  the 
subtleties  of  low  contrivance ;  till,  between  the  crimes  of 
both,  there  is  scarcely  left  a  man  in  America,  be  he  whig 
or  tory,  who  does  not  despise  or  detest  the  conduct  of 
Britain. 

The  management  of  lord  Shelburne,  whatever  may  be  his 
views,  is  a  caution  to  us,  and  must  be  to  the  world,  never  to 
regard  British  assurances.  A  perfidy  so  notorious  cannot  be 
hid.  It  stands  even  in  the  public  papers  of  New-York,  with 
the  names  of  Carleton  and  Digby  affixed  to  it.  It  is  a 
proclamation  that  the  king  of  England  is  not  to  be  believed  ; 
that  the  spirit  of  lying  is  the  governing  principle  of  the 
ministry.  It  is  holding  up  the  character  of  the  house  of 
commons  to  public  infamy,  and  warning  all  men  not  to 
credit  them.  Such  are  the  consequences  which  lord  Shel- 
burne's  management  has  brought  upon  his  country. 

After  the  authorized  declarations  contained  in  Carleton 
and  Digby's  letter,  you  ought,  from  every  motive  of  honor, 
policy  and  prudence,  to  have  fulfilled  them,  whatever  might 
have  been  the  event.  It  was  the  least  atonement  that  you 
could  possibly  make  to  America,  and  the  greatest  kindness 
you  could  do  to  yourselves  ;  for  you  will  save  millions  by  a 
general  peace,  and  you  will  lose  as  many  by  continuing  the 
war. 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  Oct.  29,  1782. 

VOL.  ! — 24 


370 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1783 


P.  S.  The  manuscript  copy  of  this  letter  is  sent  your  lord- 
ship, by  the  way  of  our  head-quarters,  to  New-York,  inclos- 
ing a  late  pamphlet  of  mine,  addressed  to  the  abbe  Raynal, 
which  will  serve  to  give  your  lordship  some  idea  of  the 
principles  and  sentiments  of  America, 

C.  S. 


THE  CRISIS. 

XIII. 

THOUGHTS  ON  THE   PEACE,  AND  THE  PROBABLE  ADVAN- 
TAGES THEREOF. 

"  The  times  that  tried  men's  souls,"*  are  over — and  the 
greatest  and  completest  revolution  the  world  ever  knew, 
gloriously  and  happily  accomplished. 

But  to  pass  from  the  extremes  of  danger  to  safety — from 
the  tumult  of  war  to  the  tranquillity  of  peace,  though  sweet 
in  contemplation,  requires  a  gradual  composure  of  the 
senses  to  receive  it.  Even  calmness  has  the  power  of  stun- 
ning, when  it  opens  too  instantly  upon  us.  The  long  and 
raging  hurricane  that  should  cease  in  a  moment,  would  leave 
us  in  a  state  rather  of  wonder  than  enjoyment ;  and  some 
moments  of  recollection  must  pass,  before  we  could  be 
capable  of  tasting  the  felicity  of  repose.  There  are  but 
few  instances,  in  which  the  mind  is  fitted  for  sudden  transi- 
tions :  it  takes  in  its  pleasures  by  reflection  and  comparison 
and  those  must  have  time  to  act,  before  the  relish  for  new 
scenes  is  complete. 

In  the  present  case — the  mighty  magnitude  of  the  object 
— the  various  uncertainties  of  fate  it  has  undergone — the 
numerous  and  complicated  dangers  we  have  suffered  or 
escaped — the  eminence  we  now  stand  on,  and  the  vast 
prospect  before  us,  must  all  conspire  to  impress  us  with 
contemplation. 

*  "  These  are  the  times  that  try  men's  souls,"  The  Crisis  No.  I.  published 
December,  1776. — Author. 


1783] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


To  see  it  in  our  power  to  make  a  world  happy — to  teach 
mankind  the  art  of  being  so — to  exhibit,  on  the  theatre  of 
the  universe  a  character  hitherto  unknown — and  to  have,  as 
it  were,  a  new  creation  intrusted  to  our  hands,  are  honors 
that  command  reflection,  and  can  neither  be  too  highly  esti- 
mated, nor  too  gratefully  received. 

In  this  pause  then  of  recollection — while  the  storm  is 
ceasing,  and  the  long  agitated  mind  vibrating  to  a  rest,  let 
us  look  back  on  the  scenes  we  have  passed,  and  learn  from 
experience  what  is  yet  to  be  done. 

Never,  I  say,  had  a  country  so  many  openings  to  happi- 
ness as  this.  Her  setting  out  in  life,  like  the  rising  of  a  fair 
morning,  was  unclouded  and  promising.  Her  cause  was 
good.  Her  principles  just  and  liberal.  Her  temper  serene 
and  firm.  Her  conduct  regulated  by  the  nicest  steps,  and 
everything  about  her  wore  the  mark  of  honour.  It  is  not 
every  country  (perhaps  there  is  not  another  in  the  world) 
that  can  boast  so  fair  an  origin.  Even  the  first  settlement 
of  America  corresponds  with  the  character  of  the  revolution. 
Rome,  once  the  proud  mistress  of  the  universe,  was  origin- 
ally a  band  of  ruffians.  Plunder  and  rapine  made  her  rich, 
and  her  oppression  of  millions  made  her  great.  But  America 
need  never  be  ashamed  to  tell  her  birth,  nor  relate  the  stages 
by  which  she  rose  to  empire. 

The  remembrance,  then,  of  what  is  past,  if  it  operates 
rightly,  must  inspire  her  with  the  most  laudable  of  all  ambi- 
tion, that  of  adding  to  the  fair  fame  she  began  with.  The 
world  has  seen  her  great  in  adversity ;  struggling,  without 
a  thought  of  yielding,  beneath  accumulated  difficulties, 
bravely,  nay  proudly,  encountering  distress,  and  rising  in 
resolution  as  the  storm  increased.  All  this  is  justly  due  to 
her,  for  her  fortitude  has  merited  the  character.  Let,  then, 
the  world  see  that  she  can  bear  prosperity :  and  that  her 
honest  virtue  in  time  of  peace,  is  equal  to  the  bravest  virtue 
in  time  of  war. 

She  is  now  descending  to  the  scenes  of  quiet  and  domestic 
life.  Not  beneath  the  cypress  shade  of  disappointment,  but 
to  enjoy  in  her  own  land,  and  under  her  own  vine,  the  sweet 


372  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1783 


of  her  labours,  and  the  reward  of  her  toil. — In  this  situation, 
may  she  never  forget  that  a  fair  national  reputation  is  of  as 
much  importance  as  independence.  That  it  possesses  a 
charm  that  wins  upon  the  world,  and  makes  even  enemies 
civil.  That  it  gives  a  dignity  which  is  often  superior  to  power, 
and  commands  reverence  where  pomp  and  splendour  fail. 

It  would  be  a  circumstance  ever  to  be  lamented  and  never 
to  be  forgotten,  were  a  single  blot,  from  any  cause  whatever, 
suffered  to  fall  on  a  revolution,  which  to  the  end  of  time 
must  be  an  honour  to  the  age  that  accomplished  it :  and  which 
has  contributed  more  to  enlighten  the  world,  and  diffuse  a 
spirit  of  freedom  and  liberality  among  mankind,  than  any 
human  event  (if  this  may  be  called  one)  that  ever  preceded  it. 

It  is  not  among  the  least  of  the  calamities  of  a  long  con- 
tinued war,  that  it  unhinges  the  mind  from  those  nice  sen- 
sations which  at  other  times  appear  so  amiable.  The 
continual  spectacle  of  wo  blunts  the  finer  feelings,  and  the 
necessity  of  bearing  with  the  sight,  renders  it  familiar.  In 
like  manner,  are  many  of  the  moral  obligations  of  society 
weakened,  till  the  custom  of  acting  by  necessity  becomes 
an  apology,  where  it  is  truly  a  crime.  Yet  let  but  a  nation 
conceive  rightly  of  its  character,  and  it  will  be  chastely  just 
in  protecting  it.  None  ever  began  with  a  fairer  than  America 
and  none  can  be  under  a  greater  obligation  to  preserve  it. 

The  debt  which  America  has  contracted,  compared  with 
the  cause  she  has  gained,  and  the  advantages  to  flow  from 
it,  ought  scarcely  to  be  mentioned.  She  has  it  in  her  choice 
to  do,  and  to  live  as  happily  as  she  pleases.  The  world  is 
in  her  hands.  She  has  no  foreign  power  to  monopolize  her 
commerce,  perplex  her  legislation,  or  control  her  prosperity. 
The  struggle  is  over,  which  must  one  day  have  happened, 
and,  perhaps,  never  could  have  happened  at  a  better  time.* 
And  instead  of  a  domineering  master,  she  has  gained  an  ally 

*  That  the  revolution  began  at  the  exact  period  of  time  best  fitted  to  the 
purpose,  is  sufficiently  proved  by  the  event. — But  the  great  hinge  on  which  the 
whole  machine  turned,  is  the  Union  of  the  States  :  and  this  union  was  natur- 
ally produced  by  the  inability  of  any  one  state  to  support  itself  against  any 
foreign  enemy  without  the  assistance  of  the  rest. 


1783] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


373 


whose  exemplary  greatness,  and  universal  liberality,  have 
extorted  a  confession  even  from  her  enemies. 

With  the  blessings  of  peace,  independence,  and  an  univer- 
sal commerce,  the  states,  individually  and  collectively,  will 
have  leisure  and  opportunity  to  regulate  and  establish 
their  domestic  concerns,  and  to  put  it  beyond  the  power  of 
calumny  to  throw  the  least  reflection  on  their  honor.  Char- 
acter is  much  easier  kept  than  recovered,  and  that  man,  if 
any  such  there  be,  who,  from  sinister  views,  or  littleness  of 
soul,  lends  unseen  his  hand  to  injure  it,  contrives  a  wound 
it  will  never  be  in  his  power  to  heal. 

Had  the  states  severally  been  less  able  than  they  were  when  the  war  began, 
their  united  strength  would  not  have  been  equal  to  the  undertaking,  and  they 
must  in  all  human  probability  have  failed. — And,  on  the  other  hand,  had  they 
severally  been  more  able,  they  might  not  have  seen,  or,  what  is  more,  might 
not  have  felt,  the  necessity  of  uniting  :  and,  either  by  attempting  to  stand 
alone  or  in  small  confederacies,  would  have  been  separately  conquered. 

Now,  as  we  cannot  see  a  time  (and  many  years  must  pass  away  before  it  can 
arrive)  when  the  strength  of  any  one  state,  or  several  united,  can  be  equal  to 
the  whole  of  the  present  United  States,  and  as  we  have  seen  the  extreme  diffi- 
culty of  collectively  prosecuting  the  war  to  a  successful  issue,  and  preserving 
our  national  importance  in  the  world,  therefore,  from  the  experience  we  have 
had,  and  the  knowledge  we  have  gained,  we  must,  unless  we  make  a  waste  of 
wisdom,  be  strongly  impressed  with  the  advantage,  as  well  as  the  necessity  of 
strengthening  that  happy  union  which  had  been  our  salvation,  and  without 
which  we  should  have  been  a  ruined  people. 

While  I  was  writing  this  note,  I  cast  my  eye  on  the  pamphlet.  Common 
Sense,  from  which  I  shall  make  an  extract,  as  it  exactly  applies  to  the  case.  It 
is  as  follows  : 

"  I  have  never  met  with  a  man,  either  in  England  or  America,  who  hath  not 
confessed  it  as  his  opinion  that  a  separation  between  the  countries  would  take 
place  one  time  or  other  ;  and  there  is  no  instance  in  which  we  have  shown  less 
judgment,  than  in  endeavoring  to  describe  what  we  call  the  ripeness  or  fitness 
of  the  continent  for  independence. 

"  As  all  men  allow  the  measure,  and  differ  only  in  their  opinion  of  the  time, 
let  us,  in  order  to  remove  mistakes,  take  a  general  survey  of  things,  and 
endeavour,  if  possible,  to  find  out  the  very  time.  But  we  need  not  to  go  far,  the 
inquiry  ceases  at  once,  for,  the  time  has  found  us.  The  general  concurrence, 
the  glorious  union  of  all  things  prove  the  fact. 

"  It  is  not  in  numbers,  but  in  a  union,  that  our  great  strength  lies.  The  con- 
tinent is  just  arrived  at  that  pitch  of  strength,  in  which  no  single  colony  is  able 
to  support  itself,  and  the  whole,  when  united,  can  accomplish  the  matter  ;  and 
either  more  or  less  than  this,  might  be  fatal  in  its  effects." — Author. 


374  '^^E   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1783 


As  we  have  established  an  inheritance  for  posterity,  let 
that  inheritance  descend,  with  every  mark  of  an  honourable 
conveyance.  The  little  it  will  cost,  compared  with  the  worth 
of  the  states,  the  greatness  of  the  object,  and  the  value  of 
the  national  character,  will  be  a  profitable  exchange. 

But  that  which  must  more  forcibly  strike  a  thoughtful, 
penetrating  mind,  and  which  includes  and  renders  easy  all 
inferior  concerns,  is  the  UNION  OF  THE  STATES.  On  this  our 
great  national  character  depends.  It  is  this  which  must  give 
us  importance  abroad  and  security  at  home.  It  is  through 
this  only  that  we  are,  or  can  be,  nationally  known  in  the 
world ;  it  is  the  flag  of  the  United  States  which  renders  our 
ships  and  commerce  safe  on  the  seas,  or  in  a  foreign  port. 
Our  Mediterranean  passes  must  be  obtained  under  the  same 
style.  All  our  treaties,  whether  of  alliance,  peace,  or  com- 
merce, are  formed  under  the  sovereignty  of  the  United 
States,  and  Europe  knows  us  by  no  other  name  or  title. 

The  division  of  the  empire  into  states  is  for  our  own  con- 
venience, but  abroad  this  distinction  ceases.  The  affairs  of 
each  state  are  local.  They  can  go  no  further  than  to  itself. 
And  were  the  whole  worth  of  even  the  richest  of  them 
expended  in  revenue,  it  would  not  be  sufficient  to  support 
sovereignty  against  a  foreign  attack.  In  short,  we  have  no 
other  national  sovereignty  than  as  United  States.  It  would 
even  be  fatal  for  us  if  we  had — too  expensive  to  be  main- 
tained, and  impossible  to  be  supported.  Individuals,  or 
individual  states,  may  call  themselves  what  they  please ;  but 
the  world,  and  especially  the  world  of  enemies,  is  not  to  be 
held  in  awe  by  the  whistling  of  a  name.  Sovereignty  must 
have  power  to  protect  all  the  parts  that  compose  and  consti- 
tute it :  and  as  UNITED  STATES  we  are  equal  to  the  impor- 
tance of  the  title,  but  otherwise  we  are  not.  Our  union,  well 
and  wisely  regulated  and  cemented,  is  the  cheapest  way  of 
being  great — the  easiest  way  of  being  powerful,  and  the 
happiest  invention  in  government  which  the  circumstances 
of  America  can  admit  of. — Because  it  collects  from  each 
state,  that  which,  by  being  inadequate,  can  be  of  no  use  to 
it,  and  forms  an  aggregate  that  serves  for  all. 


1783] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


375 


The  states  of  Holland  are  an  unfortunate  instance  of  the 
effects  of  individual  sovereignty.  Their  disjointed  condition 
exposes  them  to  numerous  intrigues,  losses,  calamities,  and 
enemies  ;  and  the  almost  impossibility  of  bringing  their  meas- 
ures to  a  decision,  and  that  decision  into  execution,  is  to 
them,  and  would  be  to  us,  a  source  of  endless  misfortune. 

It  is  with  confederated  states  as  with  individuals  in  so- 
ciety ;  something  must  be  yielded  up  to  make  the  whole 
secure.  In  this  view  of  things  we  gain  by  what  we  give,  and 
draw  an  annual  interest  greater  than  the  capital. — I  ever  feel 
myself  hurt  when  I  hear  the  union,  that  great  palladium  of 
our  liberty  and  safety,  the  least  irreverently  spoken  of.  It 
is  the  most  sacred  thing  in  the  constitution  of  America,  and 
that  which  every  man  should  be  most  proud  and  tender  of. 
Our  citizenship  in  the  United  States  is  our  national  character. 
Our  citizenship  in  any  particular  state  is  only  our  local  dis- 
tinction. By  the  latter  we  are  known  at  home,  by  the  former 
to  the  world.  Our  great  title  is  AMERICANS — our  inferior 
one  varies  with  the  place. 

So  far  as  my  endeavours  could  go,  they  have  all  been 
directed  to  conciliate  the  affections,  unite  the  interests,  and 
draw  and  keep  the  mind  of  the  country  together ;  and  the 
better  to  assist  in  this  foundation  work  of  the  revolution,  I 
have  avoided  all  places  of  profit  or  office,  either  in  the  state 
I  live  in,  or  in  the  United  States  ' ;  kept  myself  at  a  distance 
from  all  parties  and  party  connexions,  and  even  disregarded 
all  private  and  inferior  concerns :  and  when  we  take  into 
view  the  great  work  which  we  have  gone  through,  and  feel, 
as  we  ought  to  feel,  the  just  importance  of  it,  we  shall  then 
see,  that  the  little  wranglings  and  indecent  contentions  of 
personal  parley,  are  as  dishonourable  to  our  characters,  as 
they  are  injurious  to  our  repose. 

It  was  the  cause  of  America  that  made  me  an  author. 
The  force  with  which  it  struck  my  mind,  and  the  dangerous 
condition  the  country  appeared  to  me  in,  by  courting  an  im- 

'  This  referred  only  to  the  previous  two  years  ;  before  that  Paine  had  been 
Secretary  of  the  Congressional  Committee  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  subsequently 
Clerk  of  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature. — Editor. 


376  llIE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1783 


possible  and  an  unnatural  reconciliation  with  those  who 
were  determined  to  reduce  her,  instead  of  striking  out  into 
the  only  line  that  could  cement  and  save  her,  A  DECLARA- 
TION OF  INDEPENDENCE,  made  it  impossible  for  me,  feeling 
as  I  did,  to  be  silent :  and  if,  in  the  course  of  more  than 
seven  years,  I  have  rendered  her  any  service,  I  have  likewise 
added  something  to  the  reputation  of  literature,  by  freely 
and  disinterestedly  employing  it  in  the  great  cause  of  man- 
kind, and  showing  that  there  may  be  genius  without 
prostitution. 

Independence  always  appeared  to  me  practicable  and 
probable,  provided  the  sentiment  of  the  country  could  be 
formed  and  held  to  the  object :  and  there  is  no  instance  in 
the  world,  where  a  people  so  extended,  and  wedded  to 
former  habits  of  thinking,  and  under  such  a  variety  of  cir- 
cumstances, were  so  instantly  and  effectually  pervaded,  by 
a  turn  in  politics,  as  in  the  case  of  independence  ;  and  who 
supported  their  opinion,  undiminished,  through  such  a  succes- 
sion of  good  and  ill  fortune,  till  they  crowned  it  with  success. 

But  as  the  scenes  of  war  are  closed,  and  every  man  pre- 
paring for  home  and  happier  times,  I  therefore  take  my 
leave  of  the  subject.  I  have  most  sincerely  followed  it  from 
beginning  to  end,  and  through  all  its  turns  and  windings : 
and  whatever  country  I  may  hereafter  be  in,  I  shall  always 
feel  an  honest  pride  at  the  part  I  have  taken  and  acted,  and 
a  gratitude  to  nature  and  providence  for  putting  it  in  my 
power  to  be  of  some  use  to  mankind. 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  April  19,  1783.' 


A  SUPERNUMERARY  CRISIS. 

TO  THE  PEOPLE  OF  AMERICA. 

In  "  Rivington's  New- York  Gazette,"  of  December  6th,  is 
a  publication,  under  the  appearance  of  a  letter  from  London, 

'  This  was  the  date  of  the  eighth  anniversary  of  the  collision  at  Lexington, 
where  the  first  blood  was  shed  in  the  revolution. — Editor. 


1783] 


THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS. 


177 


dated  September  30th  ;  and  is  on  a  subject  which  demands 
the  attention  of  the  United  States, 

The  pubhc  will  remember  that  a  treaty  of  commerce  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  England  was  set  on  foot  last 
spring,  and  that  until  the  said  treaty  could  be  completed,  a 
bill  was  brought  into  the  British  parliament  by  the  then 
chancellor  of  the  exchequer,  Mr.  Pitt,  to  admit  and  legalize 
(as  the  case  then  required)  the  commerce  of  the  United 
States  into  the  British  ports  and  dominions.  But  neither 
the  one  nor  the  other  has  been  completed.  The  commercial 
treaty  is  either  broken  off,  or  remains  as  it  began ;  and  the 
bill  in  parliament  has  been  thrown  aside.  And  in  lieu 
thereof,  a  selfish  system  of  English  politics  has  started  up, 
calculated  to  fetter  the  commerce  of  America,  by  engrossing 
to  England  the  carrying  trade  of  the  American  produce  to 
the  West  India  islands. 

Among  the  advocates  for  this  last  measure  is  lord  Shefifield, 
a  member  of  the  British  parliament,  who  has  published  a 
pamphlet  entitled  "  Observations  on  the  Commerce  of  the 
American  States."  The  pamphlet  has  two  objects  ;  the  one 
is  to  allure  the  Americans  to  purchase  British  manufactures  ; 
and  the  other  to  spirit  up  the  British  parliament  to  prohibit 
the  citizens  of  the  United  States  from  trading  to  the  West 
India  islands. 

Viewed  in  this  light,  the  pamphlet,  though  in  some  parts 
dexterously  written,  is  an  absurdity.  It  offends,  in  the  very 
act  of  endeavoring  to  ingratiate ;  and  his  lordship,  as  a 
politician,  ought  not  to  have  suffered  the  two  objects  to 
have  appeared  together.  The  latter  alluded  to,  contains  ex- 
tracts from  the  pamphlet,  with  high  encomiums  on  lord 
Sheffield,  for  laboriously  endeavoring  (as  the  letter  styles  it) 
"  to  show  the  mighty  advantages  of  retaining  the  carrying 
trade." 

Since  the  publication  of  this  pamphlet  in  England,  the 
commerce  of  the  United  States  to  the  West  Indies,  in 
American  vessels,  has  been  prohibited  ;  and  all  intercourse, 
except  in  British  bottoms,  the  property  of  and  navigated  by 
British  subjects,  cut  off. 


378  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE,  [1783 


That  a  country  has  a  right  to  be  as  foolish  as  it  pleases, 
has  been  proved  by  the  practice  of  England  for  many  years 
past :  in  her  island  situation,  sequestered  from  the  world, 
she  forgets  that  her  whispers  are  heard  by  other  nations; 
and  in  her  plans  of  politics  and  commerce  she  seems  not  to 
know,  that  other  votes  are  necessary  besides  her  own. 
America  would  be  equally  as  foolish  as  Britain,  were  she  to 
suffer  so  great  a  degradation  on  her  flag,  and  such  a  stroke 
on  the  freedom  of  her  commerce,  to  pass  without  a  balance. 

We  admit  the  right  of  any  nation  to  prohibit  the  com- 
merce of  another  into  its  own  dominions,  where  there  are  no 
treaties  to  the  contrary  ;  but  as  this  right  belongs  to  one  side 
as  well  as  the  other,  there  is  always  a  way  left  to  bring 
avarice  and  insolence  to  reason. 

But  the  ground  of  security  which  lord  Sheffield  has  chosen 
to  erect  his  policy  upon,  is  of  a  nature  which  ought,  and  I 
think  must,  awaken  in  every  American  a  just  and  strong 
sense  of  national  dignity.  Lord  Sheffield  appears  to  be 
sensible,  that  in  advising  the  British  nation  and  parliament 
to  engross  to  themselves  so  great  a  part  of  the  carrying  trade 
of  America,  he  is  attempting  a  measure  which  cannot  suc- 
ceed, if  the  politics  of  the  United  States  be  properly  directed 
to  counteract  the  assumption. 

But,  says  he,  in  his  pamphlet,  "  It  will  be  a  long  time 
before  the  American  states  can  be  brought  to  act  as  a  nation, 
neither  are  they  to  be  feared  as  such  by  us." 

What  is  this  more  or  less  than  to  tell  us,  that  while  we 
have  no  national  system  of  commerce,  the  British  will  govern 
our  trade  by  their  own  laws  and  proclamations  as  they  please. 
The  quotation  discloses  a  truth  too  serious  to  be  overlooked, 
and  too  mischievous  not  to  be  remedied. 

Among  other  circumstances  which  led  them  to  this  dis- 
covery none  could  operate  so  effectually  as  the  injudicious, 
uncandid  and  indecent  opposition  made  by  sundry  persons 
in  a  certain  state,'  to  the  recommendations  of  congress  last 
winter,  for  an  import  duty  of  five  per  cent.  It  could  not 
but  explain  to  the  British  a  weakness  in  the  national  power 

Rhode  Island. — Editor. 


1783]  THE  AMERICAN  CRISIS.  379 


of  America,  and  encourage  them  to  attempt  restrictions  on 
her  trade,  which  otherwise  they  would  not  have  dared  to 
hazard.  Neither  is  there  any  state  in  the  union,  whose 
policy  was  more  misdirected  to  its  interest  than  the  state  I 
allude  to,  because  her  principal  support  is  the  carrying  trade, 
which  Britain,  induced  by  the  want  of  a  well-centred  power 
in  the  United  States  to  protect  and  secure,  is  now  attempt- 
ing to  take  away.  It  fortunately  happened  (and  to  no  state 
in  the  union  more  than  the  state  in  question)  that  the  terms 
of  peace  were  agreed  on  before  the  opposition  appeared, 
otherwise,  there  cannot  be  a  doubt,  that  if  the  same  idea  of 
the  diminished  authority  of  America  had  occurred  to  them 
at  that  time  as  has  occurred  to  them  since,  but  they  would 
have  made  the  same  grasp  at  the  fisheries,  as  they  have 
done  at  the  carrying  trade. 

It  is  surprising  that  an  authority  which  can  be  supported 
with  so  much  ease,  and  so  little  expense,  and  capable  of  such 
extensive  advantages  to  the  country,  should  be  cavilled  at 
by  those  whose  duty  it  is  to  watch  over  it,  and  whose  exist- 
ence as  a  people  depends  upon  it.  But  this,  perhaps,  will 
ever  be  the  case,  till  some  misfortune  awakens  us  into  reason, 
and  the  instance  now  before  us  is  but  a  gentle  beginning  of 
what  America  must  expect,  unless  she  guards  her  union  with 
nicer  care  and  stricter  honor.  United,  she  is  formidable, 
and  that  with  the  least  possible  charge  a  nation  can  be  so ; 
separated,  she  is  a  medley  of  individual  nothings,  subject  to 
the  sport  of  foreign  nations. 

It  is  very  probable  that  the  ingenuity  of  commerce  may 
have  found  out  a  method  to  evade  and  supersede  the  inten- 
tions of  the  British,  in  interdicting  the  trade  with  the  West 
India  islands.  The  language  of  both  being  the  same,  and 
their  customs  well  understood,  the  vessels  of  one  country 
may,  by  deception,  pass  for  those  of  another.  But  this 
would  be  a  practice  too  debasing  for  a  sovereign  people  to 
stoop  to,  and  too  profligate  not  to  be  discountenanced.  An 
illicit  trade,  under  any  shape  it  can  be  placed,  cannot  be 
carried  on  without  a  violation  of  truth.  America  is  now 
sovereign  and  independent,  and  ought  to  conduct  her  affairs 


38o 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1783 


in  a  regular  style  of  character.  She  has  the  same  right  to 
say  that  no  British  vessel  shall  enter  ports,  or  that  no  British 
manufactures  shall  be  imported,  but  in  American  bottoms, 
the  property  of,  and  navigated  by  American  subjects,  as 
Britain  has  to  say  the  same  thing  respecting  the  West 
Indies.  Or  she  may  lay  a  duty  of  ten,  fifteen,  or  twenty 
shillings  per  ton  (exclusive  of  other  duties)  on  every  British 
vessel  coming  from  any  port  of  the  West  Indies,  where  she 
is  not  admitted  to  trade,  the  said  tonnage  to  continue  as 
long  on  her  side  as  the  prohibition  continues  on  the  other. 

But  it  is  only  by  acting  in  union,  that  the  usurpations  of 
foreign  nations  on  the  freedom  of  trade  can  be  counteracted, 
and  security  extended  to  the  commerce  of  America.  And 
when  we  view  a  flag,  which  to  the  eye  is  beautiful,  and  to 
contemplate  its  rise  and  origin  inspires  a  sensation  of  sub- 
lime delight,  our  national  honour  must  unite  with  our  in- 
terest to  prevent  injury  to  the  one,  or  insult  to  the  other. 

Common  Sense. 


New-York,  December  g,  1783. 


XX. 


RETREAT  ACROSS  THE  DELAWARE.' 

Fort  Washington  being  obliged  to  surrender,  by  a 
violent  attack  made  by  the  whole  British  army,  on  Saturday 
the  i6th  of  November,  the  Generals  determined  to  evacuate 
Fort  Lee,  which  being  principally  intended  to  preserve  the 
communication  with  Fort  Washington,  was  become  in  a 
manner  useless.  The  stores  were  ordered  to  be  removed 
and  great  part  of  them  was  immediately  sent  off.  The 
enemy  knowing  the  divided  state  of  our  army,  and  that  the 
terms  of  the  soldiers  inlistments  would  soon  expire,  con- 
ceived the -design  of  penetrating  into  the  Jersies,  and  hoped, 
by  pushing  their  successes,  to  be  completely  victorious. 
Accordingly,  on  Wednesday  morning,  the  20th  November, 
it  was  discovered  that  a  large  body  of  British  and  Hessian 
troops  had  crossed  the  North  river,  and  landed  about  six 
miles  above  the  fort.  As  our  force  was  inferior  to  that  of 
the  enemy,  the  fort  unfinished,  and  on  a  narrow  neck  of 
land,  the  garrison  was  ordered  to  march  for  Hackensack 
bridge,  which,  tho'  much  nearer  the  enemy  than  the  fort, 
they  quietly  suffered  our  troops  to  take  possession  of.  The 
principal  loss  suffered  at  Fort  Lee  was  that  of  the  heavy 
cannon,  the  greatest  part  of  which  was  left  behind.  Our 
troops  continued  at  Hackensack  bridge  and  town  that  day 
and  half  of  the  next,  when  the  inclemency  of  the  weather, 
the  want  of  quarters,  and  approach  of  the  enemy,  obliged 

'  From  the  Pennsylvania  Journal,  Jan.  29,  1777,  where  it  is  preceded  by  a 
note  showing  that  its  late  appearance  was  owing  to  the  paper  having  for  some 
time  suspended  publication.  It  was  during  this  retreat  that  Paine  wrote 
"Crisis"  No.  I. — Editor. 

381 


382  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1776- 


them  to  proceed  to  Aquaconack,  and  from  thence  to  New- 
ark ;  a  party  being  left  at  Aquaconack  to  observe  the 
motions  of  the  enemy.  At  Newark  our  Httle  army  was 
reinforced  by  Lord  Sterling's  and  Col.  Hand's  brigades, 
which  had  been  stationed  at  Brunswick.  Three  days  after 
our  troops  left  Hackensack,  a  body  of  the  enemy  crossed 
the  Passaic  above  Aquaconack,  made  their  approaches 
slowly  towards  Newark,  and  seemed  extremely  desirous  that 
we  should  leave  the  town  without  their  being  put  to  the 
trouble  of  fighting  for  it.  The  distance  from  Newark  to 
Aquaconack  is  nine  miles,  and  they  were  three  days  in 
marching  that  distance.  From  Newark  our  retreat  was  to 
Brunswick,  and  it  was  hoped  the  assistance  of  the  Jersey 
Militia  would  enable  General  Washington  to  make  the 
Banks  of  the  Raritan  the  bounds  of  the  enemy's  progress ; 
but  on  the  ist  of  December  the  army  was  greatly  weakened, 
by  the  expiration  of  the  terms  of  the  enlistments  of  the 
Maryland  and  Jersey  Flying  Camp ;  and  the  militia  not 
coming  in  so  soon  as  was  expected,  another  retreat  was  the 
necessary  consequence.  Our  army  reached  Trenton  on  the 
4th  of  December,  continued  there  till  the  7th,  and  then,  on 
the  approach  of  the  enemy,  it  was  thought  proper  to  pass 
the  Delaware. 

This  retreat  was  censured  by  some  as  pusillanimous  and 
disgraceful ;  but,  did  they  know  that  our  army  was  at  one 
time  less  than  a  thousand  effective  men,  and  never  more 
than  4000, — that  the  number  of  the  enemy  was  at  least 
8000,  exclusive  of  their  artillery  and  light  horse, — that  this 
handful  of  Americans  retreated  slowly  above  80  miles  with- 
out losing  a  dozen  men — and  that  suffering  themselves  to 
be  forced  to  an  action,  would  have  been  their  entire  destruc- 
tion— did  they  know  this,  they  would  never  have  censured 
it  at  all — they  would  have  called  it  prudent — posterity  will 
call  it  glorious — and  the  names  of  Washington  and  Fabius 
will  run  parallel  to  eternity. 

The  enemy,  intoxicated  with  success,  resolved  to  enjoy 
the  fruits  of  their  conquest.  Fearless  of  an  attack  from  this 
side  the  river,  they  cantoned  in  parties  at  a  distance  from 


177?]  RETREAT  ACROSS  THE  DELAWARE. 


383 


each  other,  and  spread  misery  and  desolation  wherever  they 
went.  Their  rage  and  lust,  their  avarice  and  cruelty,  knew 
no  bounds ;  and  murder,  ravishment,  plunder,  and  the  most 
brutal  treatment  of  every  sex  and  age,  were  the  first  acts 
that  signalized  their  conquest.  And  if  such  were  their  out- 
rages on  the  partial  subjection  of  a  few  villages — good  God! 
what  consummate  wretchedness  is  in  store  for  that  state  over 
which  their  power  shall  be  fully  established. 

While  the  enemy  were  in  this  situation,  their  security  was 
increased  by  the  captivity  of  General  Lee,  who  was  un- 
fortunately taken  in  the  rear  of  his  army,  December  13th, 
at  Baskinridge  by  a  party  of  light-horse,  commanded  by 
Col.  Harcourt.  The  fortune  of  our  arms  was  now  at  its 
lowest  ebb — but  the  tide  was  beginning  to  turn — the 
militia  of  this  city  [Philadelphia]  had  joined  General  Wash- 
ington— the  junction  of  the  two  armies  was  soon  after 
effected — and  the  back  countries  of  this  state,  aroused  by 
the  distresses  of  America,  poured  out  their  yeomanry  to 
the  assistance  of  the  continental  army.  General  Wash- 
ington began  now  to  have  a  respectable  force,  and  resolved 
not  to  be  idle.  On  the  26th  of  December  he  crossed  the 
Delaware,  surprised  three  regiments  of  Hessians,  and  with 
little  or  no  loss,  took  near  a  thousand  prisoners.' 

Soon  after  this  manoeuvre,  and  while  the  enemy  were  col- 
lecting their  scattered  troops  at  Princeton  and  Brunswick, 
Gen.  Washington  crossed  the  Delaware  with  all  his  army. 
On  the  2d  of  January  the  enemy  began  to  advance  towards 
Trenton,  which  they  entered  in  the  afternoon,  and  there  being 
nothing  but  a  small  creek  between  the  two  armies,  a  general 
engagement  was  expected  next  day.  This  it  was  manifestly 
our  advantage  to  avoid  ;  and  by  a  master  stroke  of  general- 
ship, Gen.  Washington  frees  himself  from  his  disagreeable 
situation,  and  surprises  a  party  of  the  enemy  in  Princeton, 
which  obliges  their  main  body  to  return  to  Brunswick. 

'  Washington's  letter  to  Congress  (December  27,  1776)  is  here  inserted  by  the 
editor  of  Ihe  Pennsylvania  yournal. — Editor. 


XXL 


LETTER  TO  FRANKLIN,  IN  PARIS.' 

York  Town  [Pa.],  May  i6,  1778. 

Your  favour  of  October  7th  did  not  come  to  me  till 
March.  I  was  at  Camp  when  Capt.  Folger  arrived  with  the 
Blank  Packet.''  The  private  letters  were,  I  believe,  all  safe. 
Mr.  [President]  Laurens  forwarded  yours  to  York  Town 
where  I  afterwards  received  it. 

The  last  winter  has  been  rather  barren  of  military  events, 
but  for  your  amusement  I  send  you  a  little  history  how  I 
have  passed  away  part  of  the  time. 

The  iith  of  September  last  I  was  preparing  Dispatches 
for  you  when  the  report  of  cannon  at  Brandywine  inter- 
rupted my  proceeding.  The  event  of  that  day  you  have 
doubtless  been  informed  of,  which,  excepting  the  Enemy 
keeping  the  ground,  may  be  deemed  a  drawn  battle.  Genl. 
Washington  collected  his  Army  at  Chester,  and  the  Enemy's 
not  moving  towards  him  next  day  must  be  attributed  to 
the  disability  they  sustained  and  the  burthen  of  their 
wounded.  On  the  i6th  of  the  same  month  the  two  armies 
were  drawn  up  in  order  of  battle  near  White  Horse  on  the 
Lancaster  road,  when  a  most  violent  and  incessant  storm  of 
rain  prevented  an  action.  Our  Army  sustained  a  heavy  loss 
in  their  Ammunition,  the  Cartouche  Boxes,  especially  as 

'  Copied  from  the  original  in  the  Franklin  Papers,  by  favor  of  the  Philo- 
sophical Society,  Philadelphia.  Congress  was  in  session  at  York,  Pennsylvania, 
where  the  house  in  which  Paine  kept  the  papers  of  the  Foreign  Affairs  Com- 
mittee of  which  he  was  Secretary,  still  exists.  In  it,  no  doubt,  this  letter  to 
Franklin  was  written. — Editor. 

'  The  dispatches  sent  by  the  American  Commissioners  from  Paris  had  been 
intercepted  by  the  British. — Editor. 

384 


1778] 


LETTER  TO  FRANKLIN,  IN  PARIS. 


385 


they  were  not  of  the  most  seasoned  leather,  being  no  proof 
against  the  almost  incredible  fury  of  the  weather,  which 
'obliged  Genl.  Washington  to  draw  his  army  up  into  the 
'country  until  those  injuries  could  be  repaired,  and  a  new 
supply  of  ammunition  procured.  The  enemy  in  the  mean 
time  kept  on  the  west  side  of  Schuylkill.  On  Friday  the 
19th  about  one  in  the  morning  the  first  alarm  of  their  cross- 
ing was  given,  and  the  confusion,  as  you  may  suppose, 
was  very  great.  It  was  a  beautiful  still  moonlight  morning 
and  the  streets  as  full  of  men,  women  and  children  as  on  a 
market  day.  On  the  evening  before  I  was  fully  persuaded 
that  unless  something  was  done  the  City  [Philadelphia] 
would  be  lost ;  and  under  that  anxiety  I  went  to  Col.  Bay- 
ard, Speaker  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  and  represented,  as 
I  very  particularly  knew  it,  the  situation  we  were  in,  and  the 
probability  of  saving  the  City  if  proper  efforts  were  made 
for  that  purpose.  I  reasoned  thus — Genl.  Washington  was 
about  30  Miles  up  the  Schuylkill  with  an  Army  properly 
collected  waiting  for  Ammunition,  besides  which  a  rein- 
forcement of  1500  men  were  marching  from  the  North  River 
to  join  him  ;  and  if  only  an  appearance  of  defence  be  made  in 
the  City  by  throwing  up  works  at  the  heads  of  the  streets, 
it  would  make  the  Enemy  very  suspicious  how  they  threw 
themselves  between  the  City  and  Genl.  Washington,  and  be- 
tween two  Rivers,  which  must  have  been  the  case ;  for 
notwithstanding  the  knowledge  which  military  gentlemen 
are  supposed  to  have,  I  observe  they  move  exceedingly 
cautiously  on  new  ground,  are  exceedingly  suspicious  of 
Villages  and  Towns,  and  more  perplexed  at  seemingly  little 
things  which  they  cannot  clearly  understand  than  at  great 
ones  which  they  are  fully  acquainted  with.  And  I  think  it 
very  probable  that  Genl.  Howe  would  have  mistaken  our 
necessity  for  a  deep  laid  scheme  and  not  have  ventured 
himself  in  the  middle  of  it.  But  admitting  that  he 
had,  he  must  either  have  brought  his  whole  Army  down,  or  a 
part  of  it.  If  the  whole.  Gen.  Washington  would  have  fol- 
lowed him,  perhaps  the  same  day,  in  two  or  three  days  at 
most,  and  our  assistance  in  the  City  would  have  been 

VOL.  I.— 25 


386  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i???- 


material.  If  only  a  part  of  it,  we  should  have  been  a  match 
for  them  and  Gen.  Washington  superior  to  those  which  re- 
mained above.  The  chief  thing  was,  whether  the  citizens 
would  turn  out  to  defend  the  City.  My  proposal  to  Cols. 
Bayard  and  Bradford  was  to  call  them  together  the  next 
morning,  make  them  fully  acquainted  with  the  situation  and 
the  means  and  prospect  of  preserving  themselves,  and  that 
the  City  had  better  voluntarily  assess  itself  $50,000  for  its 
defence  than  suffer  an  Enemy  to  come  into  it.  Cols.  Bay- 
ard and  Bradford  were  in  my  opinion,  and  as  Genl.  Mifflin 
was  then  in  town,  I  next  went  to  him,  acquainted  him  with 
our  design,  and  mentioned  likewise  that  if  two  or  three 
thousand  men  could  be  mustered  up  whether  we  might  de- 
pend on  him  to  command  them,  for  without  some  one  to 
lead,  nothing  could  be  done.  He  declined  that  part,  not 
being  then  very  well,  but  promised  what  assistance  he  could. 
A  few  hours  after  this  the  alarm  happened.  I  went  directly 
to  Genl.  Mifflin  but  he  had  sett  off,  and  nothing  was  done. 
I  cannot  help  being  of  opinion  that  the  City  might  have 
been  saved,  but  perhaps  it  is  better  otherwise. 

I  staid  in  the  City  till  Sunday  [September  21,]  having  sent 
my  Chest  and  everything  belonging  to  the  Foreign  Commit- 
tee to  Trenton  in  a  Shallop.  The  Enemy  did  not  cross  the 
river  till  the  Wednesday  following.  Hearing  on  the  Sunday 
that  Genl.  Washington  had  moved  to  Sunderford  I  set  off 
for  that  place,  but  learning  on  the  road  that  it  was  a  mistake 
and  that  he  was  six  or  seven  miles  above  that  place,  I  crossed 
over  to  Southfield,  and  the  next  morning  to  Trenton,  to  see 
after  my  Chest.  On  the  Wednesday  morning  I  intended 
returning  to  Philadelphia,  but  was  informed  at  Bristol  of  the 
Enemy's  crossing  the  Schuylkill.  At  this  place  I  met  Col. 
Kirkbride  of  Pennsburg  Manor,  who  invited  me  home  with 
him.  On  Friday  the  26th  a  Party  of  the  Enemy  about  1500 
took  possession  of  the  City,  and  the  same  day  an  account 
arrived  that  Col.  Brown  had  taken  300  of  the  Enemy  at  the 
old  french  lines  at  Ticonderoga,  and  destroyed  all  their  Water 
Craft,  being  about  200  boats  of  different  kinds. 

On  the  29th  September  I  sett  off  for  Camp  without  well 


[778]  LETTER  TO  FRANKLIN,  IN  PARIS.  387 


knowing  where  to  find  it,  every  day  occasioning  some  move- 
ment. I  kept  pretty  high  up  the  country,  and  being  unwill- 
ing to  ask  questions,  not  knowing  what  company  I  might  be 
in,  I  was  there  three  days  before  I  fell  in  with  it.  The  Army 
had  moved  about  three  miles  lower  down  that  morning.  The 
next  day  they  made  a  movement  about  the  same  distance, 
to  the  21  Mile  Stone  on  the  Skippach  Road, —  Headquarters 
at  John  Wince's.  On  the  3d  October  in  the  morning  they 
began  to  fortify  the  Camp,  as  a  deception  ;  and  about  9  at 
night  marched  for  German  Town.  The  number  of  Conti- 
nental Troops  was  between  8  and  9000,  besides  Militia,  the 
rest  remaining  as  Guards  for  the  security  of  Camp.  Genl. 
Greene,  whose  Quarters  I  was  at,  desired  me  to  remain  there 
till  morning.'  The  Skirmishing  with  the  Pickets  began  soon 
after.  I  met  no  person  for  several  miles  riding,  which  I  con- 
cluded to  be  a  good  sign  ;  after  this  I  met  a  man  on  horse- 
back who  told  me  he  was  going  to  hasten  on  a  supply  of 
ammunition,  that  the  Enemy  were  broken  and  retreating 
fast,  which  was  true.  I  saw  several  country  people  with 
arms  in  their  hands  running  cross  a  field  towards  German 
Town,  within  about  five  or  six  miles,  at  which  I  met  several 
of  the  wounded  on  waggons,  horseback,  and  on  foot.  I 
passed  Genl.  Nash  on  a  litter  made  of  poles,  but  did  not 
know  him.  I  felt  unwilling  to  ask  questions  lest  the  infor- 
mation should  not  be  agreeable,  and  kept  on.  About  two 
miles  after  this  I  passed  a  promiscuous  crowd  of  wounded 
and  otherwise  who  were  halted  at  a  house  to  refresh.  Col. 
Biddle  D.  Q.  M.  G.  was  among  them,  who  called  after  me, 
that  if  I  went  farther  on  that  road  I  should  be  taken,  for  that 
the  firing  which  I  heard  was  the  Enemy's.  I  never  could, 
and  cannot  now  learn,  and  I  believe  no  man  can  inform  truly 
the  cause  of  that  day's  miscarriage. 

The  retreat  was  as  extraordinary.  Nobody  hurried  them- 
selves.   Every  one  marched  his  own  pace.    The  Enemy  kept 

'  Paine  had  been  appointed  on  Gen.  Nathaniel  Greene's  staff  at  Fort  Lee, 
1776,  and,  after  his  appointment  as  Secretary  of  the  Foreign  Affairs  Committee, 
his  honorary  position  on  the  staff  remained.  General  Greene  was  much  attached 
to  him. — Editor. 


388 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i???- 


a  civil  distance  behind,  sending  every  now  and  then  a  shot 
after  us,  and  receiving  the  same  from  us.  That  part  of  the 
Army  which  I  was  with  collected  and  formed  on  the  Hill 
on  the  side  of  the  road  near  White  Marsh  Church ;  the 
enemy  came  within  three  quarters  of  a  mile  and  halted. 
The  orders  on  Retreat  were  to  assemble  that  night  on  the 
back  of  Perkioming  Creek,  about  7  miles  above  the  Camp, 
which  had  orders  to  move.  The  Army  had  marched  the 
preceding  night  14  miles,  and  having  full  20  to  march  back 
were  exceedingly  fatigued.  They  appeared  to  me  to  be 
only  sensible  of  a  disappointment,  not  a  defeat,  and  to  be 
more  displeased  at  their  retreating  from  German  Town,, 
than  anxious  to  get  to  their  rendezvous.  I  was  so  lucky 
that  night  to  get  a  little  house  about  4  miles  wide  of  Perk- 
ioming, towards  which  place  in  the  morning  I  heard  a  con- 
siderable firing,  which  distressed  me  exceedingly,  knowing 
that  our  army  was  much  harassed  and  not  collected.  How- 
ever, I  soon  relieved  myself  by  going  to  see.  They  were 
discharging  their  pieces,  which,  though  necessary,  prevented 
several  Parties  going  till  next  day.  I  breakfasted  next  morn- 
ing at  Genl.  Washington's  Quarters,  who  was  at  the  same 
loss  with  every  other  to  account  for  the  accidents  of  the  day. 
I  remember  his  expressing  his  Surprise,  by  saying,  that  at 
the  time  he  supposed  every  thing  secure,  and  was  about 
giving  orders  for  the  Army  to  proceed  down  to  Philadel- 
phia ;  that  he  most  unexpectedly  saw  a  Part  (I  think  of  the 
Artillery)  hastily  retreating.  This  partial  Retreat  was,  I 
believe,  misunderstood,  and  soon  followed  by  others.  The 
fog  was  frequently  very  thick,  the  Troops  young  and  un- 
used to  breaking  and  rallying,  and  our  men  rendered  sus- 
picious to  each  other,  many  of  them  being  in  Red.  A  new 
Army  once  disordered  is  difficult  to  manage,  the  attempt 
dangerous.  To  this  may  be  added  a  prudence  in  not  put- 
ting matters  to  too  hazardous  a  tryal  the  first  time.  Men 
must  be  taught  regular  fighting  by  practice  and  degrees, 
and  tho'  the  expedition  failed,  it  had  this  good  effect — that 
they  seemed  to  feel  themselves  more  important  after  it  than 
before,  as  it  was  the  first  general  attack  they  had  ever  made. 


1778] 


LETTER  TO  FRANKLIN,  IN  PARIS. 


389 


I  have  not  related  the  affair  at  Mr.  Chew's  house  German 
Town,  as  I  was  not  there,  but  have  seen  it  since.  It  cer- 
tainly afforded  the  Enemy  time  to  rally — yet  the  matter  was 
difficult.  To  have  pressed  on  and  left  500  Men  in  ye  rear, 
might  by  a  change  of  circumstances  been  ruinous.  To  at- 
tack them  was  a  loss  of  time,  as  the  house  is  a  strong  stone 
building,  proof  against  any  12  pounder.  Genl.  Washington 
sent  a  flag,  thinking  it  would  procure  their  surrender  and 
expedite  his  march  to  Philadelphia;  it  was  refused,  and  cir- 
cumstances changed  almost  directly  after. 

I  staid  in  Camp  two  days  after  the  Germantown  action, 
and  lest  any  ill  impression  should  get  among  the  Garrisons 
at  Mud  Island  and  Red  Bank,  and  the  Vessels  and  Gallies 
stationed  there,  I  crossed  over  to  the  Jersies  at  Trenton  and 
went  down  to  those  places.  I  laid  the  first  night  on  board 
the  Champion  Continental  Galley,  who  was  stationed  off  the 
mouth  of  the  Schuylkill.  The  Enemy  threw  up  a  two  Gun 
Battery  on  the  point  of  the  river's  mouth  opposite  the  Pest 
House.  The  next  morning  was  a  thick  fog,  and  as  soon  as 
it  cleared  away,  and  we  became  visible  to  each  other,  they 
opened  on  the  Galley,  who  returned  the  fire.  The  Commo- 
dore made  a  signal  to  bring  the  Galley  under  the  Jersey 
shore,  as  she  was  not  a  match  for  the  Battery,  nor  the  Bat- 
tery a  sufficient  Object  for  the  Galley.  One  shot  went 
thro'  the  fore  sail,  which  was  all.  At  noon  I  went  with 
Col.  [Christopher]  Greene,  who  commanded  at  Red  Bank 
[fort,]  over  to  fort  Mififlin  (Mud  Island.)  The  Enemy 
opened  that  day  2  two-gun  Batteries,  and  a  Mortar  Battery, 
on  the  fort.  They  threw  about  30  shells  into  it  that  after- 
noon, without  doing  any  damage ;  the  ground  being  damp 
and  spongy,  not  above  five  or  six  burst  ;  not  a  man  was 
killed  or  wounded.  I  came  away  in  the  evening,  laid  on 
board  the  Galley,  and  the  next  day  came  to  Col.  Kirkbride's 
[Bordentown,  N.  J.]  ;  staid  a  few  days  and  came  again  into 
Camp.  An  Expedition  was  on  foot  the  evening  I  got  there 
in  which  I  went  as  Aid  de  Camp  to  Genl.  [Nathaniel] 
Greene,  having  a  Volunteer  Commission  for  that  purpose. 
The  occasion  was — a  Party  of  the  Enemy,  about  1500,  lay 


390 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i???- 


over  the  Schuylkill  at  Grey's  ferry.  Genl.  McDougall  with 
his  Division  was  sent  to  attack  them ;  and  Sullivan  and 
Greene  with  their  Divisions  were  to  favour  the  enterprise 
by  a  feint  on  the  City,  down  the  Germantown  road.  They 
set  off  about  nine  at  night,  and  halted  at  daybreak,  between 
German  Town  and  the  City,  the  advanced  Party  at  three 
Miles  Run.  As  I  knew  the  ground  I  went  with  two  light 
horse  to  discover  the  Enemy's  Picket,  but  the  dress  of  the 
light  horse  being  white  made  them,  I  thought,  too  visible, 
as  it  was  then  twilight ;  on  which  I  left  them  with  my 
horse,  and  went  on  foot,  till  I  distinctly  saw  the  Picket  at 
Mr.  Dickerson's  place — which  is  the  nearest  I  have  been  to 
Philadelphia  since  September,  except  once  at  Cooper's  ferry, 
as  I  went  to  the  forts.  Genl.  Sullivan  was  at  Dr.  Redman's 
house,  and  McDougall's  beginning  the  attack  was  to  be  the 
Signal  for  moving  down  to  the  City.  But  the  Enemy  either 
on  the  approach  of  McDougall,  or  on  information  of  it, 
called  in  their  Party,  and  the  Expedition  was  frustrated. 

A  Cannonade,  by  far  the  most  furious  I  ever  heard,  began 
down  the  river,  soon  after  daylight,  the  first  Gun  of  which 
we  supposed  to  be  the  Signal ;  but  was  soon  undeceived, 
there  being  no  small  Arms.  After  waiting  two  hours  beyond 
the  time,  we  marched  back ;  the  cannon  was  then  less  fre- 
quent, but  on  the  road  between  Germantown  and  White 
Marsh  we  were  stuned  with  a  report  as  loud  as  a  peal  from 
a  hundred  Cannon  at  once ;  and  turning  around  I  saw  a 
thick  smoke  rising  like  a  pillar,  and  spreading  from  the  top 
like  a  tree.  This  was  the  blowing  up  of  the  Augusta.  I  did 
not  hear  the  explosion  of  the  Berlin. 

After  this  I  returned  to  Col.  Kirkbride's,  where  I  staid 
about  a  fortnight,  and  set  off  again  to  Camp.  The  day  after 
I  got  there  Genls.  Greene,  Wayne,  and  Cadwallader,  with  a 
Party  of  light  horse,  were  ordered  on  a  reconnoitering  Party 
towards  the  forts.  We  were  out  four  days  and  nights  with- 
out meeting  with  anything  material.  An  East  Indiaman, 
whom  the  Enemy  had  cut  down  so  as  to  draw  but  little 
water,  came  up,  without  guns,  while  we  were  on  foot  on 
Carpenter's  Island,  going  to  Province  Island.    Her  Guns 


1778]  LETTER  TO  FRANKLIN,  IN  PARIS.  39I 


were  brought  up  in  the  evening  in  a  flat,  she  got  in  the  rear 
of  the  Fort,  where  few  or  no  Guns  could  bear  upon  her,  and 
the  next  morning  played  on  it  incessantly.  The  night  fol- 
lowing the  fort  was  evacuated.  The  obstruction  the  Enemy 
met  with  from  those  forts,  and  the  Chevaiix  de  /rise,  was 
extraordinary,  and  had  it  not  been  that  the  Western  Chan- 
nel, deepened  by  the  current,  being  somewhat  obstructed 
by  the  Chevaux  de  frise  in  the  main  river,  which  enabled 
them  to  bring  up  the  light  Indiaman  Battery,  it  is  a  doubt 
whether  they  would  have  succeeded  at  last.  By  that  assist- 
ance they  reduced  the  fort,  and  got  sufificient  command  of 
the  river  to  move  some  of  the  late  sunk  Chevaux  de  frise. 
Soon  after  this  the  fort  on  Red  Bank  (which  had  bravely 
repulsed  the  Enemy  a  little  time  before)  was  evacuated,  the 
Gallies  ordered  up  to  Bristol,  and  the  Captains  of  such  other 
armed  Vessels  as  thought  they  could  not  pass  on  the  East- 
ward side  of  Wind  Mill  Island,  very  precipitately  set  them 
on  fire.  As  I  judged  from  this  event  that  the  Enemy  would 
winter  in  Philadelphia,  I  began  to  think  of  preparing  for 
York  Town,  which  however  I  was  willing  to  delay,  hoping 
that  the  ice  would  afford  opportunity  for  new  Manoeuvres. 
But  the  reason  passed  very  barrenly  away.  I  staid  at  Col. 
Kirkbride's  till  the  latter  end  of  January.  Commodore 
Haslewood,  who  commanded  the  remainder  of  the  fleet  at 
Trenton,  acquainted  me  with  a  scheme  of  his  for  burning 
the  Enemy's  Shipping,  which  was  by  sending  a  charged 
boat  across  the  river  from  Cooper's  ferry,  by  means  of  a 
Rocket  fixed  in  its  stern.  Considering  the  width  of  the 
river,  the  tide,  and  the  variety  of  accidents  that  might 
change  its  direction,  I  thought  the  project  trifling  and  in- 
sufficient ;  and  proposed  to  him,  that  if  he  would  get  a  boat 
properly  charged,  and  take  a  Batteau  in  tow,  sufficient  to 
bring  three  or  four  persons  off,  that  I  would  make  one  with 
him  and  two  other  persons  that  might  be  relied  on  to  go 
down  on  that  business.  One  of  the  Company,  Capn.  Blewer 
of  Philadelphia,  seconded  the  proposal,  but  the  Commodore, 
and,  what  I  was  more  surprized  at,  Col.  Bradford,  declined 
it.    The  burning  of  part  of  the  Delaware  fleet,  the  precipi- 


392 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


[1777- 


tate  retreat  of  the  rest,  the  little  service  rendered  by  them 
and  the  great  expence  they  were  at,  make  the  only  national 
blot  in  the  proceedings  of  the  last  Campaign.  I  felt  a  strong 
anxiety  for  them  to  recover  their  credit,  which,  among  others, 
was  one  motive  for  my  proposal.  After  this  I  came  to  Camp, 
and  from  thence  to  York  Town,  and  published  the  Crisis  No. 
5,  to  Genl.  Howe.  I  have  begun  No.  6,  which  I  intend  to 
address  to  Lord  North.' 

I  was  not  at  Camp  when  Genl.  Howe  marched  out  on  the 
20th  of  December  towards  White  Marsh.  It  was  a  most 
contemptible  affair,  the  threatenings  and  seeming  fury  he 
sate  out  with,  and  haste  and  terror  the  Army  retreated  with, 
make  it  laughable.  I  have  seen  several  persons  from  Phila- 
delphia who  assure  me  that  their  coming  back  was  a  mere 
uproar,  and  plainly  indicated  their  apprehensions  of  a  pur- 
suit. Genl.  Howe,  in  his  Letter  to  Lord  Go.  Germain,  dated 
December  13th,  represented  Genl.  Washington's  Camp  as  a 
strongly  fortified  place.  There  was  not,  Sir,  a  work  thrown 
up  in  it  till  Genl.  Howe  marched  out,  and  then  only  here 
and  there  a  breastwork.  It  was  a  temporary  Station.  Be- 
sides which,  our  men  begin  to  think  Works  in  the  field  of 
little  use. 

Genl.  Washington  keeps  his  Station  at  the  Valley  forge. 
I  was  there  when  the  Army  first  began  to  build  huts ;  they 
appeared  to  me  like  a  family  of  Beavers:  every  one  busy ; 
some  carrying  Logs,  others  Mud,  and  the  rest  fastening 
them  together.  The  whole  was  raised  in  a  few  days,  and  is 
a  curious  collection  of  buildings  in  the  true  rustic  order. 

As  to  Politics,  I  think  we  are  now  safely  landed.  The 
apprehension  which  Britain  must  be  under  from  her  neigh- 
bours must  effectually  prevent  her  sending  reinforcements, 
could  she  procure  them.  She  dare  not,  I  think,  in  the  present 
situation  of  affairs,  trust  her  troops  so  far  from  home. 

No  Commissioners  are  yet  arrived.    I  think  fighting  is 

'  It  was,  however,  addressed  to  the  Commissioners  sent  from  England.  "Crisis" 
V.  was  written  at  Lancaster,  Pa. ,  in  tlie  house  of  the  eminent  engineer,  William 
Henry,  Jr.,  who  has  left  011  record  that  Paine  then  explained  to  him  the  means 
by  which  steam  could  Ise  applied  to  navigation.  See  my  "  Life  of  Paine,"  vol. 
ii.,  pp.  280,  408,  462. — Editor. 


1778]  LETTER  ro  FRANKLIN,  IN  PARIS.  393 


nearly  over,  for  Britain,  mad,  wicked,  and  foolish,  has  done 
her  utmost.  The  only  part  for  her  now  to  act  is  frugality, 
and  the  only  way  for  her  to  get  out  of  debt  is  to  lessen  her 
Government  expenses.  Two  Millions  a  year  is  a  sufficient 
allowance,  and  as  much  as  she  ought  to  expend  exclusive 
<jf  the  interest  of  her  Debt.  The  affairs  of  England  are  ap- 
proaching either  to  ruin  or  redemption.  If  the  latter  she 
may  bless  the  resistance  of  America. 

For  my  own  part,  I  thought  it  very  hard  to  have  the 
Country  set  on  fire  about  my  Ears  almost  the  moment  I  got 
into  it ;  and  among  other  pleasures  I  feel  in  having  uniformly 
done  my  duty,  I  feel  that  of  not  having  discredited  your 
friendship  and  patronage. 

I  live  in  hopes  of  seeing  and  advising  with  you  respecting 
the  History  of  the  American  Revolution,  as  soon  as  a  turn 
of  Affairs  make  it  safe  to  take  a  passage  for  Europe.  Please 
to  accept  my  thanks  for  the  Pamphlets,  which  Mr.  Temple 
Franklin  tells  me  he  has  sent.  They  are  not  yet  come  to 
hand.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bache '  are  at  Mainheim,  near  Lancas- 
ter; I  heard  they  were  well  a  few  days  ago.  I  laid  two 
nights  at  Mr.  Duffield's,  in  the  winter.  Miss  Nancy  Clifton 
was  there,  who  said  the  Enemy  had  destroyed  or  sold  a 
great  part  of  your  furniture.  Mr.  Duffield  has  since  been 
taken  by  them  and  carried  into  the  City,  but  is  now  at  his 
own  house.''  I  just  hear  they  have  burnt  Col.  Kirkbride's, 
Mr.  Borden's,  and  some  other  houses  at  Borden  Town.^ 
Governor  Johnstone  (House  of  Commons)  has  written  to 
Mr.  Robert  Morris  informing  him  of  Commissioners  coming 
from  England.    The  letter  is  printed  in  the  Newspapers 

'  Franklin's  son-in-law  and  daughter,  to  whom  he  had  introduced  Paine  when 
he  was  emigrating  to  America,  in  1774. — Editor. 

^  Rev.  Dr.  George  Duffield,  pastor  of  the  Third  Presbyterian  Church,  Phila- 
delphia ;  Associate  Chaplain  of  the  first  Continental  Congress,  and  afterwards 
Chaplain  in  the  Army.  He  was  a  famous  revolutionary  preacher,  and  tradition 
says  a  "  reward  was  set  on  his  head."  It  will  be  seen,  however,  from  Paine's 
letter  that  Dr.  Duffield  suffered  little  molestation  after  falling  into  the  enemy's 
hands .  — Editor. 

^  It  was  in  the  house  of  his  friend,  Col.  Kirkbride,  at  Bordentown,  N.  J., 
that  Paine  made  the  earliest  model  of  the  iron  bridge  he  had  invented. — Editor. 


394 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


without  signature,  and  is  dated  February  5th,  by  which  you 
will  know  it. 

Please,  Sir,  to  accept  this,  rough  and  incorrect  as  it  is,  as 
I  have  [not]  time  to  copy  it  fair,  which  was  my  design  when 
I  began  it ;  besides  which,  paper  is  most  exceedingly  scarce.' 

I  am.  Dear  Sir,  your  obliged  and  affectionate  humble 
Servt., 

T.  Paine. 

The  Honble.  Benj.  Franklin,  Esqr. 

'  It  is  a  notable  thing  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Foreign  Affairs  Committee, 
writing  in  his  office  to  the  United  States  Minister  in  Paris,  mentions  this  scarcity 
of  paper. — Editor, 


XXII. 

THE  AFFAIR  OF  SILAS  DEANE.' 

TO  SILAS  DEANE,  ESQ'RE. 

After  reading  a  few  lines  of  your  address  to  the  Public 
in  the  Pennsylvania  Packet  of  December  6th,  I  can  truly  say, 
that  concern  got  the  better  of  curiosity,  and  I  felt  an  unwill- 
ingness to  go  through  it.  Mr.  Deane  must  very  well  know 
that  I  have  no  interest  in,  so  likewise  am  I  no  stranger  to, 
his  negotiations  and  contracts  in  France,  his  difference  with 
his  colleagues,  the  reason  of  his  return  to  America,  and  the 
matters  which  have  occurred  since.  All  these  are  to  me 
familiar  things;  and  while  I  can  but  be  surprized  at  the  con- 
duct of  Mr.  Deane,  I  lament  the  unnecessary  torture  he  has 
imprudently  occasioned.  That  disagreements  will  arise  be- 
tween individuals,  even  to  the  perplexity  of  a  State,  is 
nothing  new,  but  that  they  should  be  outrageously  brought 
forward,  by  one  whose  station  abroad  should  have  taught 
him  a  delicacy  of  manners  and  even  an  excess  of  prudence, 
is  something  strange.  The  mind  of  a  /kmi^g- public  is  quickly 
alarmed  and  easily  tormented.  It  not  only  suffers  by  the 
stroke,  but  is  frequently  fretted  by  the  cure,  and  ought 
therefore  to  be  tenderly  dealt  with,  and  7ie7'er  ought  to  be 
trifled  with.  It  feels  first  and  reasons  afterwards.  Its 
jealousy  keeps   vibrating   between   the  accused  and  the 

'  From  the  Pennsylvania  Packet,  December  15,  1778.  The  recent  investiga- 
tions of  MM.  Doniol,  Delomanie,  and  others  in  France,  and  of  Provost  Stille 
and  others  in  America,  concerning  Beaumarchais,  the  subsidies  of  France  to 
the  American  Revolution,  and  the  part  acted  by  the  American  agent  in  Paris 
(Deane),  render  Paine's  papers  on  this  subject  of  much  historical  interest. 
They  have  not  appeared  in  any  previous  collection  of  Paine's  work=. — Edifry. 

395 


396  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


accuser,  and  on  a  failure  of  proof  always  fixes  on  the  latter. 
Had  Mr.  Deane's  address  produced  no  uneasiness  in  the 
body  he  appeals  to,  it  would  have  been  a  sign,  not  of  tran- 
quility, but  death  :  and  though  it  is  painful  to  see  it  unneces- 
sarily tortured,  it  is  pleasant  to  contemplate  the  living 
cause.  Mr.  Deane  is  particularly  circumstanced.  He  has 
advantages  which  seldom  happen,  and  when  they  do  happen, 
ought  to  be  used  with  the  nicest  care  and  strictest  honor. 
He  has  the  opportunity  of  telling  his  own  tale  and  there  is 
none  to  reply  to  him.  Two  of  the  gentlemen  he  so  freely 
censures  are  three  thousand  miles  off,  and  the  other  two  he 
so  freely  affronts  are  Members  of  Congress ;  one  of  them 
likewise.  Col.  R.  H.  Lee,  is  absent  in  Virginia;  and  however 
painful  may  be  their  feelings,  they  must  attend  the  progres- 
sive conduct  of  the  house.  No  Member  in  Congress  can 
individually  take  up  the  matter  without  becoming  inconsist- 
ent, and  none  of  the  public  understands  it  sufficiently.  With 
these  advantages  Mr.  Deane  ought  to  be  nicely  and  strictly 
the  gentleman,  in  his  language,  his  assertions,  his  insinua- 
tions and  his  facts.  He  presents  himself,  as  his  own  evi- 
dence, upon  his  honor,  and  any  misrepresentation  or  disin- 
genuous trifling  in  him  will  be  fatal. 

Mr.  Deane  begins  his  address  with  a  general  display  of  his 
services  in  France,  and  strong  insinuations  against  the  Hon. 
Arthur  and  William  Lee,  he  brings  his  complaints  down  to 
the  time  of  signing  the  treaty,  and  from  thence  to  the  fourth 
of  March,  when  he  received  the  following  Order  of  Congress 
which  he  inserts  at  large  : 

"  In  Congress,  December  8,  1777.  Whereas  it  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  that  Congress  should  at  this  critical  juncture  be  well 
informed  of  the  state  of  affairs  in  Europe.  And  whereas  Congress 
have  resolved  that  the  Honorable  Silas  Deane,  Esq,  be  recalled 
from  the  Court  of  France,  and  have  appointed  another  Commis- 
sioner to  supply  his  place  there.  Ordered,  that  the  Committee  for 
foreign  correspondence,  write  to  the  Honorable  Silas  Deane,  and 
direct  him  to  embrace  the  first  opportunity  of  returning  to  America, 
and  upon  his  arrival  to  repair  with  all  possible  dispatch  to  Congress." 
Mr.  Deane  then  says  "  and  having  placed  my  pape^-s  and  yours  in 


1778] 


THE  AFFAIR  OF  SILAS  DEANE. 


397 


safety,  I  left  Paris  the  30th  to  embark  for  my  native  country,  on 
board  that  fleet  which  your  great  and  generous  ally  sent  out  for 
your  assistance,  in  full  confidence  that  I  should  not  be  detained  on 
the  business  I  was  sent  for."  ' 

I  am  obliged  to  tell  Mr.  Deane  that  this  arrangement  is 
somewhat  uncandid,  for  on  the  reading  it,  it  creates  an 
opinion  and  likewise  carries  an  appearance  that  Mr.  Deane 
was  only  sent  for,  as  the  necessary  and  proper  person  from 
whom  Congress  might  obtain  a  history  of  their  affairs,  and 
learn  the  character  of  their  foreign  Agents,  Commissioners 
and  Ambassadors,  after  which  Mr.  Deane  was  to  return.  Is 
Mr.  Deane  so  little  master  of  address  as  not  to  know  that 
censure  may  be  politely  conveyed  by  an  apology  ?  For  how- 
ever Mr.  Deane  may  chuse  to  represent  or  misrepresent  the 
matter,  the  truth  is  that  Jiis  contracts  and  engagements  in 
France,  had  so  involved  and  embarrassed  Congress,  that  they 
found  it  necessary  and  resolved  to  recall  him,  that  is  ordered 
him  home,  to  give  an  account  of  his  own  conduct,  and  like- 
wise to  save  him  from  a  train  of  disagreeable  consequences, 
which  must  have  arisen  to  him  had  he  continued  in  France. 
I  would  not  be  supposed  to  insinuate,  that  he  might  be 
thought  unsafe,  but  unfit.  There  is  a  certain  and  necessary 
association  of  dignity  between  the  person  and  the  employ- 
ment which  perhaps  did  not  appear  when  Mr.  Deane  was 
considered  the  Ambassador.  His  address  to  the  public  con- 
firms the  justness  of  this  remark.  The  spirit  and  language 
of  it  differ  exceedingly  from  that  cool  penetrating  judgment 
and  refinement  of  manners  and  expression  which  fits,  and  is 
absolutely  necessary  in,  the  Plenipotentiary.  His  censures 
are  coarse  and  vehement,  and  when  he  speaks  of  himself,  he 
begs,  nay  almost  weeps  to  be  believed. — It  was  the  intricacy 
of  Mr.  Deane's  own  official  affairs,  his  multiplied  contracts 
in  France  before  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Franklin  or  any  of  the 
other  Commissioners ;  his  assuming  authorities,  and  enter- 
ing into  engagements,  in  the  time  of  his  Commercial  Agency, 
for  which  he  had  neither  commission  nor  instruction,  and 


'  The  italics  are  Paine's. — Editor. 


398 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


the  general  unsettled  state  of  his  accounts,  that  were  among 
the  reasons  that  produced  the  motion  for  recalling  and  super- 
seding him. — Why  then  does  Mr.  Deane  endeavour  to  lead 
the  attention  of  the  public  to  a  wrong  object,  and  bury  the 
real  reasons,  under  a  tumult  of  new  and  perhaps  unnecessary 
suspicions  ? 

Mr.  Deane  in  the  beginning  of  his  address  to  the  public 
says,  "  What  1  write  to  you,  I  would  have  said  to  your 
Representatives,  their  ears  have  been  shut  against  me,  by  an 
attention  to  matters,  which  my  respect  for  them  induces  me 
to  believe  were  of  '  more  importance'  " 

In  this  paragraph  Mr.  Deane's  excuse  becomes  his  ac- 
cuser, and  his  justification  is  his  offence ;  for  if  the  greater 
importance  of  other  matters  is  supposed  and  given  by  him- 
self as  a  reason,  why  he  was  not  heard,  it  is  likewise  a  suf- 
ficient reason,  why  he  ought  not  to  have  complained  that 
"  their  ears  were  shut,''  and  a  good  reason  why  he  ought  to 
have  waited  a  more  convenient  time.  But  besides  the  in- 
consistency of  this  charge,  there  is  something  in  it  that  will 
suffer  by  an  inquiry,  and  I  am  sorry  that  Mr.  Deane's  im- 
prudence has  obliged  me  to  mention  a  circumstance  which 
affects  his  honour  as  a  gentleman,  his  reputation  as  a  man. 
In  order  to  be  clearly  understood  on  this  head,  I  am 
obliged  to  go  back  with  Mr.  Deane  to  the  time  of  his  quit- 
ting France  on  account  of  his  being  recalled.  "  I  left  Paris," 
says  Mr.  Deane,  "on  the  30th  of  March,  1778  to  embark  for 
my  native  country,  having  placed  '  my  papers  and  yours  in 
safety!  "  Would  any  body  have  supposed  that  a  gentleman 
in  the  character  of  a  Commercial  Agent,  and  afterwards  in 
that  of  a  public  Minister,  would  return  home  after  seeing 
himself  both  recalled  and  superseded,  and  not  bring  with 
him  his  papers  and  vouchers?  And  why  he  has  done  so 
must  appear  to  every  one  exceedingly  unaccountable.  Af- 
ter Mr.  Deane's  arrival  he  had  two  audiences  with  Congress 
in  August  last,  in  neither  of  which  did  he  offer  the  least 
charge  against  the  gentleman  he  has  so  loudly  upbraided  in 
his  address  to  the  public  :  neither  has  he  yet  accounted  for 
his  expenditure  of  public  money,  which,  as  it  might  have 


1778] 


THE  AFFAIR  OF  SILAS  DEANE. 


399 


been  done  by  a  written  state  of  accounts,  might  for  that 
reason  have  been  done  at  any  time,  and  was  a  part  of  the 
business  which  required  an  audience. 

There  is  something  curiously  intricate  and  evasive  in  Mr. 
Deane's  saying  in  his  address,  that  he  left  France  "  in  full 
confidence  that  he  should  not  be  detained  on  the  business  he 
was  sent  for."  And  the  only  end  it  can  answer  to  him  is  to 
furnish  out  a  present  excuse  for  not  producing  his  papers. 
Mr.  Deane  had  no  right,  either  from  the  literal  or  implied 
sense  of  the  resolution  itself,  to  suppose  that  he  should 
return  to  France  in  his  former  public  character,  or  that  he 
was  "sent  for,"  as  he  stiles  it,  on  any  other  personal  business 
than  that  which  related  to  himself.  Mr.  Deane  must  be 
sensible,  if  he  will  but  candidly  reflect,  that  as  an  agent 
only,  he  greatly  exceeded  his  line,  and  embarrassed  the 
Congress,  the  continent,  the  army  and  himself. 

Mr.  Deane's  address  to  the  public  is  dated  "  Nov." — but 
without  any  day  of  the  month  ;  and  here  a  new  scene  of 
ungenteel  evasion  opens.  On  the  last  day  of  that  month, 
viz.  the  30th,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  Congress  signifying 
his  intentions  of  returning  to  France,  and  pressing  to  have 
his  affairs  brought  to  some  conclusion,  which,  I  presume,  on 
account  of  the  absence  of  his  papers  could  not  well  be  done; 
therefore  Mr.  Deane's  address  to  the  public  must  be  written 
before  the  30th,  and  consequently  before  his  letter  to  Con- 
gress, which  carries  an  appearance  of  its  being  only  a  feint 
in  order  to  make  a  confused  diversion  in  his  favor  at  the 
time  his  affairs  should  come  under  consideration. 

What  favours  this  opinion,  is  that  on  the  next  day,  that 
is  December  1st,  and  partly  in  consequence  of  Mr.  Deane's 
letter  to  them  of  the  30th,  the  Congress  entered  the  follow- 
ing resolution. 

"In  Congress  December  ist,  1778. — Resolved,  That  after  to- 
morrow Congress  will  meet  two  hours  at  least  each  evening,  be- 
ginning at  six  o'clock,  Saturday  evening  excepted,  until  the 
present  state  of  their  foreign  affairs  be  fully  considered." 

As  an  enquiry  into  the  state  of  foreign  affairs  naturally 


400 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


and  effectually  included  all  and  every  part  of  Mr.  Deane's, 
he  was  thereupon  regularly  notified  by  letter  to  attend  ;  and 
on  the  fourth  he  wrote  again  to  Congress,  acquainting  them 
with  his  having  received  that  notification  and  expressed  his 
thanks  ;  yet  on  the  day  following,  viz.  the  fifth  he  published 
his  extraordinary  address  in  the  newspapers,  which,  on 
account  of  its  unsupported  matter,  the  fury  of  its  language 
and  temper,  and  its  inconsistency  with  other  parts  of  his  con- 
duct, is  incompatible  with  that  character  (which  on  account 
of  the  station  he  had  been  honoured  with,  and  the  sense  that 
should  have  impressed  him  in  consequence  thereof)  he  ought 
to  have  maintained. 

On  the  appearance  of  Mr.  Deane's  address  of  the  fifth,  the 
public  became  jealously  uneasy,  and  well  they  might.  They 
were  unacquainted  with  the  train  of  circumstances  that  pre- 
ceded and  attended  it,  and  were  naturally  led  to  suppose, 
that  Mr.  Deane,  on  account  of  the  station  he  had  filled,  must 
be  too  much  a  gentleman  to  deceive  them.  It  was  Mr. 
Deane's  particular  fortune  to  grow  into  consequence  from 
accident.  Sent  to  France  as  a  Commercial  Agent  under  the 
appointment  of  a  Committee,  he  rose  as  a  matter  of  con- 
venience to  the  station  of  a  Commissioner  of  Congress ;  and 
with  what  dignity  he  might  fill  out  that  character,  the  public 
will  judge  from  his  conduct  since  ;  and  perhaps  be  led  to 
substitute  convenience  as  an  excuse  for  the  appointment. 

A  delicacy  of  difficulties  likewise  arose  in  Congress  on  the 
appearance  of  the  said  address  ;  for  setting  aside  the  matter, 
the  irregular  manner  of  it,  as  a  proceeding,  was  a  breach  of 
decency ;  and  as  Mr.  Deane  after  being  notified  to  attend 
an  enquiry  into  foreign  afTairs,  had  circumstantially  with- 
drawn from  that  mode,  by  appealing  to  the  public,  and  at 
the  same  time  said  "  their  ears  ivere  shut  against  him"  it  was 
therefore  given  as  a  reason  by  some,  that  to  take  any  notice 
of  Mr.  Deane  in  the  interim  would  look  like  suppressing  his 
public  information,  if  he  had  any  to  give  ;  and  consequently 
would  imply  dishonour  on  the  House, — and  that  as  he  had 
transferred  his  case  to  the  public,  before  it  had  been  rejected 
by  the  Congress,  he  ought  therefore  to  be  left  with  the 


1778] 


THE  AFFAIR  OF  SILAS  DEANE. 


401 


public,  till  he  had  done  with  them  and  they  with  him  ;  and 
that  whether  his  information  was  true  or  not,  it  was  an  insult 
on  the  people,  because  it  was  making  them  the  ladder,  on 
which  he  insulted  their  representatives,  by  an  unjust  com- 
plaint of  neglect.  Others  who  might  anticipate  the  anxiety 
of  the  public,  and  apprehend  discontents  would  arise  from  a 
supposed  inattention,  were  for  adopting  measures  to  prevent 
them,  and  of  consequence  inclined  to  a  different  line  of  con- 
duct, and  this  division  of  sentiment  on  what  might  be 
supposed  the  honour  of  the  House,  occasioned  the  then 
President,  Henry  Laurens,  Esq.,  who  adhered  to  the  former 
opinion,  to  resign  the  chair.  The  majority  on  the  sentiments 
was  a  single  vote.  In  this  place  I  take  the  liberty  of  re- 
marking, for  the  benefit  of  succeeding  generations,  that  the 
Honourable  President  before  mentioned,  having  filled  that 
station  for  one  year  in  October  last,  made  his  resignation  of 
the  Presidency  at  the  expiration  of  the  year,  lest  any  example 
taken  from  his  continuance  might  have  become  inconvenient. 
I  have  an  additional  satisfaction  in  mentioning  this  useful 
historical  anecdote,  because  it  is  done  wholly  unknown  to 
the  gentleman  to  whom  it  relates,  or  to  any  other  gentleman 
in  or  out  of  Congress.  He  was  replaced  by  a  unanimous 
vote.    But  to  return  to  my  narration — 

In  the  Pennsylvania  Packet  of  December  8th,  Francis 
Lightfoot  Lee,  Esq.,  brother  to  the  gentleman  so  rudely 
treated  in  Mr.  Deane's  publication,  and  the  only  one  now 
present,  put  in  a  short  address  to  the  public,  requesting  a 
suspension  of  their  judgment  till  the  matter  could  be  fully 
investigated  by  those  whose  immediate  business  it  became ; 
meaning  Congress.  And  Mr.  Deane  in  the  paper  of  the  loth 
published  another  note,  in  which  he  informs,  "  that  the  Hon- 
orable Congress  did,  on  Saturday  morning  the  5th  instant, 
assign  Monday  evening  to  hear  him."  But  why  does  Mr. 
Deane  conceal  the  resolution  of  Congress  of  December  1st,  in 
consequence  of  which  he  was  notified  to  attend  regularly  an 
enquiry  into  the  state  of  foreign  affairs?  By  so  doing,  he 
endeavours  to  lead  the  public  into  a  belief  that  his  being 
heard  on  Monday  was  extorted  purely  in  consequence  of  his 

VOL.  I. — 26 


402  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [177S 


address  of  the  5th,  and  that  otherwise  he  should  not  have 
been  heard  at  all.  I  presume  Congress  are  anxious  to  hear 
him,  and  to  have  his  accounts  arranged  and  settled ;  and  if 
this  should  be  the  case,  why  did  Mr.  Deane  leave  his  papers 
in  France,  and  now  complain  that  his  affairs  are  not  con- 
cluded? In  the  same  note  Mr.  Deane  likewise  says,  "that 
Congress  did  on  that  evening,  Monday,  resolve,  that  Mr. 
Deane  do  report  in  writing,  as  soon  as  may  be,  his  agency 
of  their  affairs  in  Europe,  together  with  any  intelligence 
respecting  their  foreign  affairs  which  he  may  judge  proper." 
But  why  does  Mr.  Deane  omit  giving  the  remaining  part  of 
the  resolution,  which  says,  "  That  Mr.  Deane  be  informed, 
that  if  he  has  any  thing  to  communicate  to  Congress  in  the 
interim  of  immediate  importance,  that  he  should  be  heard  to- 
morrow evening."  I  can  see  no  propriety,  in  omitting  this 
part,  unless  Mr.  Deane  concluded  that  by  publishing  it  he 
might  put  a  quick  expiration  to  his  credit,  by  his  not  being 
able  to  give  the  wondrous  information  he  had  threatened  in 
his  address.  In  the  conclusion  of  this  note,  Mr.  Deane  like- 
wise says,  "  I  therefore  conceive  that  I  cannot,  with  propriety, 
continue  my  narrative  at  present.  In  the  mean  time  I  sub- 
mit it  to  the  good  sense  of  the  public,  whether  I  ought  to 
take  any  notice  of  a  publication  signed  Francis  Lightfoot 
Lee,  opposed  to  stubborn  and  undeniable  facts." 

Thus  far  I  have  compared  Mr.  Deane  with  himself,  and 
whether  he  has  been  candid  or  uncandid,  consistent  or  in- 
consistent, I  leave  to  the  judgment  of  those  who  read  it. 
Mr.  Deane  cannot  have  the  least  right  to  think  that  I  am 
moved  by  any  party  difference  or  personal  antipathy.  He 
is  a  gentleman  with  whom  I  never  had  a  syllable  of  dispute, 
nor  with  any  other  person  upon  his  account.  Who  are  his 
friends,  his  connections,  or  his  foes,  is  wholly  indifferent  to 
me,  and  what  I  have  written  will  be  a  secret  to  everybody 
till  it  comes  from  the  press.  The  convulsion  which  the 
public  were  thrown  into  by  his  address  will,  I  hope,  justify 
my  taking  up  a  matter  in  which  I  should  otherwise  have 
been  perfectly  silent ;  and  whatever  may  be  its  fate,  my 
intention  is  a  good  one ;  besides  which  there  was  no  other 


1778]  THE  AFFAIR  OF  SILAS  DEANE.  403 


person  who  knew  the  affair  sufficiently,  or  knowing  it,  could 
confidently  do  it,  and  yet  it  was  necessary  to  be  done. 

I  shall  now  take  a  short  review  of  what  Mr.  Deane  calls 
'■'■stubborn  and  undeniable  facts."  Mr,  Deane  must  be  ex- 
ceedingly unconversant  both  with  terms  and  ideas,  not  to 
distinguish  even  between  a  wandering  probability  and  a 
fact ;  and  between  a  forced  inclination  and  a  proof ;  for  ad- 
mitting every  circumstance  of  information  in  Mr.  Dcane's 
address  to  be  true,  they  are  still  but  circumstances,  and  his 
deductions  from  them  are  hypothetical  and  inconclusive. 

Mr.  Deane  has  involved  a  gentleman  in  his  unlimited  cen- 
sure, whose  fidelity  and  personal  qualities  I  have  been  well 
acquainted  with  for  three  years  past ;  and  in  respect  to  an 
absent  injured  friend,  Col.  Richard  Henry  Lee,  I  will  ven- 
ture to  tell  Mr.  Deane,  that  in  any  stile  of  character  in  which 
a  gentleman  may  be  spoken  of,  Mr.  Deane  would  suffer  by 
a  comparison.  He  has  one  defect  which  perhaps  Mr.  Deane 
is  acquainted  with,  the  misfortune  of  having  but  one  hand. 

The  charges  likewise  which  he  advances  against  the  Hon- 
orable Arthur  and  William  Lee,  are  to  me,  circumstantial 
evidences  of  Mr.  Deane's  unfitness  for  a  public  character; 
for  it  is  the  business  of  a  foreign  minister  to  learn  other 
men's  secrets  and  keep  their  own.  Mr.  Deane  has  given  a 
short  history  of  Mr.  Arthur  Lee  and  Dr.  Berkenhout  in 
France,  and  he  has  brought  the  last  mentioned  person  again 
on  the  stage  in  America.  There  is  something  in  this  so  ex- 
ceedingly weak,  that  I  am  surprised  that  any  one  who  would 
be  thought  a  man  of  sense,  should  risk  his  reputation  upon 
such  a  frivolous  tale ;  for  the  event  of  the  story,  if  any  can 
be  produced  from  it,  is  greatly  against  himself. 

He  says  that  a  correspondence  took  place  in  France  be- 
tween Dr.  Berkenhout  and  Mr.  [Arthur]  Lee ;  that  Mr.  Lee 
shewed  part  of  the  correspondence  to  Dr.  Franklin  and  him- 
self ;  and  that  in  order  to  give  the  greater  weight  to  Dr. 
Berkenhout's  remarks  he  gave  them  to  understand,  that  Dr. 
Berkenhout  was  in  the  secrets  of  the  British  Ministry.  What 
Mr.  Deane  has  related  this  for,  or  what  he  means  to  infer 
from  it,  I  cannot  understand  ;  for  the  political  inference 


404  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


ought  to  be,  that  if  Mr.  Lee  really  thought  that  Dr.  Berken- 
hout  was  in  the  secrets  of  the  British  Ministry,  he  was  there- 
fore the  very  person  with  whom  Mr.  Lee  ought,  as  an 
Ambassador,  to  cultivate  a  correspondence,  and  introduce 
to  his  colleagues,  in  order  to  discover  what  those  secrets 
were,  that  they  might  be  transmitted  to  America ;  and  if 
Mr.  Deane  acted  otherwise,  he  unwisely  mistook  his  own 
character.  However,  this  I  can  assure  Mr.  Deane,  upon  my 
own  knowledge,  that  more  and  better  information  has  come 
from  Mr.  Lee  than  ever  came  from  himself ;  and  how  or 
where  he  got  it,  is  not  a  subject  fit  for  public  enquiry  :  unless 
Mr.  Deane  means  to  put  a  stop  to  all  future  informations.  I 
can  likewise  tell  Mr.  Deane,  that  Mr.  Lee  was  particularly 
commissioned  by  a  certain  body,  and  that  under  every  sacred 
promise  of  inviolable  secrecy,  to  make  discoveries  in  Eng- 
land, and  transmit  them.  Surely  Mr.  Deane  must  have  left 
his  discretion  with  his  papers,  or  he  would  see  the  imprudence 
of  his  present  conduct. 

In  the  course  of  Mr.  Deane's  narrative  he  mentions  Dr. 
Berkenhout  again.  "  In  September  last,  "  says  he,"  I  was  in- 
formed that  Dr.  Berkenhout,  who  I  have  before  mentioned, 
was  in  gaol  in  this  city.  I  confess  I  was  surprised,  consider- 
ing what  I  have  already  related,  that  this  man  should  have 
the  audacity  to  appear  in  the  capital  of  America."  But  why 
did  not  Mr.  Deane  confront  Dr.  Berkenhout  while  he  was 
here  ?  Why  did  he  not  give  information  to  Congress  or  to 
the  Council  before  whom  he  was  examined,  and  by  whom 
he  was  discharged  and  sent  back  for  want  of  evidence  against 
him  ?  Mr.  Deane  was  the  only  person  that  knew  anything 
of  him,  and  it  looks  very  unfavorable  in  him  that  he  was 
silent  when  he  should  have  spoke,  if  he  had  anything  to  say, 
and  now  he  has  gone  has  a  great  deal  to  tell,  and  that  about 
nothing.  "  I  immediately,  "  says  Mr.  Deane,"  sate  myself 
about  the  measures  which  I  conceived  necessary  to  investigate 
his  plans  and  designs."  This  is  indeed  a  trifling  excuse,  for  it 
wanted  no  great  deal  of  setting  about,  the  whole  secret  as 
well  as  the  means  being  with  himself,  and  half  an  hour's  in- 
formation might  have  been  sufficient.  What  Mr.  Deane 
means  by  "  investigating  his  plans  and  designs,"  I  cannot 


1778]  THE  AFFAIR  OF  SILAS  DEANE.  405 


understand,  unless  he  intended  to  have  the  Doctor's  nativity 
cast  by  a  conjurer.  Yet  this  trifling  round-about  story  is 
one  of  Mr.  Deane's  "  stubborn  and  undeniable  facts." 
However  it  is  thus  far  a  fact,  that  Mr.  Deane  kept  it  a  secret 
till  the  man  was  gone. 

He  likewise  entertains  us  with  a  history  of  what  passed  at 
New  York  between  Dr.  Berkenhout  and  Governor  Johnstone  ; 
but  as  he  must  naturally  think  that  his  readers  must  wonder 
how  he  came  by  such  knowledge,  he  prudently  supplies  the 
defect  by  saying  "  that  Providence  in  whom  we  put  our  trust, 
'  unfolded  it  to  me'''' — revealed  it,  I  suppose.  As  to  what  Dr. 
Berkenhout  was,  or  what  he  came  for,  is  a  matter  of  very 
little  consequence  to  us.  He  appeared  to  be  a  man  of  good 
moral  character,  of  a  studious  turn  of  mind,  and  genteel 
behaviour,  and  whether  he  had  whimsically  employed  him- 
self, or  was  employed  on  a  foolish  errand  by  others,  is  a 
business  not  worth  our  enquiring  after  ;  he  got  nothing  here, 
and  to  send  him  back  was  both  necessary  and  civil.  He  in- 
troduced himself  to  General  Maxwell  at  Elizabeth-Town,  as 
knowing  Mr.  Arthur  Lee ;  the  General  wrote  a  letter  of 
information  to  Col.  R.  H.  Lee  who  presented  the  same  to 
Congress.  But  it  does  not  appear  that  Mr.  Deane  moved  in 
the  matter  till  a  considerable  time  after  the  Doctor  was  sent 
off,  and  then  Mr.  Deane  put  a  series  of  queries  in  the  news- 
paper to  know  why  he  was  let  go.  I  little  thought  at  that 
time  that  the  queries  were  Mr.  Deane's,  as  they  really  ap- 
peared to  me  to  be  the  produce  of  some  little  mind. 

Mr.  Deane  likewise  tells  us  that  Mr.  A.  Lee  was  suspected 
by  some  of  our  best  friends  because  of  his  acquaintance  with 
Lord  Shelburne  ;  and  perhaps  some  Mr.  Deane  in  England 
might  find  out  that  Lord  Shelburne  ought  to  be  suspected 
because  of  his  acquaintance  with  Mr.  Lee.  Mr.  Deane  ap- 
pears to  me  neither  to  understand  characters  nor  business, 
or  he  would  not  mention  Lord  Shelburne  on  such  an  occasion 
whose  uniform  and  determined  opposition  to  the  Ministry 
appears  to  be  known  to  everybody  but  Mr.  Deane.'  Mr. 

'  Shelburne  (afterwards  Lord  Lansdowne)  was  the  friend  of  Dr.  Priestley. 
George  III.  detested  Lord  Shelburne,  whom  he  described  as  "the  Jesuit  of 
Berkeley-Square."  When  Paine  was  in  England  in  1787-9  Lansdowne  was  his 
friend. — Editor. 


406  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


Deane  has  given  us  a  quotation  from  a  letter  [of  Arthur 
Lee's]  which  he  never  saw,  and  had  it  likewise  from  a  gentle- 
man in  France  who  had  never  seen  it,  but  who  had  heard  it 
from  a  correspondent  in  England  to  whom  it  was  not  sent ; 
and  this  traditionary  story  is  another  of  Mr.  Deane's  stubborn 
and  undeniable  facts.  But  even  supposing  the  quotation  to 
be  true,  the  only  inference  from  it  is  naturally  this,  *'  That 
the  sooner  England  makes  peace  with  America  the  better  it 
will  be  for  her."  Had  the  intimation  been  given  before 
the  treaty  with  France  was  signed,  it  might  have  been  justly 
censured,  but  being  given  after,  it  can  have  but  one  meaning, 
and  that  a  clear  one.  He  likewise  says,  that  Charles  Fox 
"  declared  pointedly  in  the  House  of  Commons,"  that  the 
treaty  between  France  and  America  was  signed,  and  as 
Charles  Fox  knows  Lord  Shelburne,  and  Lord  Shelburne 
Mr.  Lee,  therefore  Mr.  Deane  infers,  "  as  a  stubborn  and  un- 
deniable fact,"  that  Mr.  Lee  must  tell  it.  Does  Mr.  Deane 
know  that  nothing  can  be  long  a  secret  in  a  Court,  especially 
where  the  countries  are  but  twenty  miles  apart,  and  that 
Charles  Fox,  from  his  ingratiating  manners,  is  almost  univer- 
sally known  in  France  ? 

Mr.  Deane  likewise  supposes  that  William  Lee,  Esquire 
continues  an  Alderman  of  London,  and  either  himself  or 
some  other  gentleman  since,  under  the  signature  of  Obser- 
VATOR,  says  that  "  he  has  consulted,  on  this  point,  the  Royal 
Kalendar  or  Annual  Register,"  and  finds  it  true.  To  consult 
a  Kalendar  to  find  out  a  name  must  be  a  learned  consulta- 
tion indeed.  An  Alderman  of  London  is  neither  a  place  at 
Court  nor  a  place  of  profit,  and  if  the  city  chuses  not  to  ex- 
pel him,  it  is  a  proof  they  are  very  good  whigs ;  and  this  is 
the  only  proved  fact  in  Mr.  Deane's  Address.  But  there  is, 
through  the  whole  of  it,  a  barbarous,  unmanly  and  unsup- 
ported attack  on  absent  characters,  which  are,  perhaps,  far 
superior  to  his  own ;  an  eagerness  to  create  suspicions  wher- 
ever he  can  catch  an  opportunity  ;  an  over-strained  desire  to 
be  beheved ;  and  an  affected  air  of  giving  importance  to 
trifles.  He  accuses  Mr.  [Arthur]  Lee  of  incivility  to  the 
French  nation.    Mr.  Lee,  if  I  can  judge  by  his  writing,  is 


1773]  THE  AFFAIR  OF  SILAS  DEANE.  407 


too  much  both  of  a  scholar  and  a  gentleman  to  deserve  such 
a  censure.  He  might  with  great  justice  complain  of  Mr. 
Deane's  contracts  with  individuals  ;  for  we  are  fully  sensible, 
that  the  gentlemen  which  have  come  from  France  since  the 
arrival  of  Dr.  Franklin  and  Mr.  Lee  in  that  country,  are  of  a 
different  rank  to  the  generality  of  those  with  whom  Mr. 
Deane  contracted  when  alone.  And  this  observation  will, 
I  believe  explain  that  charge  no  ways  to  Mr,  Deane's 
honour. 

Upon  the  whole,  I  cannot  help  considering  this  publica- 
tion as  one  of  the  most  irrational  performances  I  ever  met 
with.  He  seems  in  it  to  pay  no  regard  to  individual  safety, 
nor  cares  who  he  may  involve  in  the  consequences  of  his 
quarrel.  He  mentions  names  without  restraint,  and  stops 
at  no  discovery  of  persons.  A  public  man,  in  Mr.  Deane's 
former  character,  ought  to  be  as  silent  as  the  grave  ;  for  who 
would  trust  a  person  with  a  secret  who  shewed  such  a  talent 
for  revealing  ?  Under  the  pretence  of  doing  good  he  is  doing 
mischief,  and  in  a  tumult  of  his  own  creating,  will  expose 
and  distress  himself. 

Mr.  Deane's  Address  was  calculated  to  catch  several  sorts 
of  people:  The  rash,  because  they  are  fond  of  fiery  things  ; 
the  curious,  because  they  are  fond  of  curiosities ;  the  weak, 
because  they  easily  believe ;  the  good,  because  they  are  un- 
suspicious ;  the  tory,  because  it  comforts  his  discontent ; 
the  high  whig,  because  he  is  jealous  of  his  rights ;  the  man 
of  national  refinement,  because  it  obscurely  hints  at  national 
dishonor.  The  clamor,  it  is  true,  has  been  a  popular  one, 
and  so  far  as  it  is  the  sign  of  a  living  principle,  it  is  pleasant 
to  see  it ;  but  when  once  understood  it  will  amount  to  noth- 
ing, and  with  the  rapidity  that  it  rose  it  will  descend. 

Common  Sense. 

Philadelphia,  Dec.  14,  1788. 

P,S, — The  writer  of  this  has  been  waited  on  by  a  gentle- 
man, whom  he  supposes,  by  his  conversation,  to  be  a  friend 
of  Mr,  Deane's,  and  whom  Mr,  Deane,  but  not  any  other 
person,  is  welcome  to  know  whenever  he  pleases.  The 


408  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


gentleman  informed  the  writer,  that  some  persons,  whom  he 
did  not  mention,  had  threatened  most  extraordinary  violence 
against  him  (the  writer  of  this  piece)  for  taking  the  matter 
up;  the  writer  asked,  what,  whether  right  or  wrong?  and 
likewise  informed  the  gentleman,  that  he  had  done  it  solely 
with  a  view  of  putting  the  public  right  in  a  matter  which 
they  did  not  understand — that  the  threat  served  to  increase 
the  necessity,  and  was  therefore  an  excitement  to  his  doing 
it.  The  gentleman,  after  expressing  his  good  opinion  of, 
and  personal  respect  for,  the  writer,  withdrew. 


XXIII. 


TO  THE  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE'S  AFFAIR.' 

Hoping  this  to  be  my  last  on  the  subject  of  Mr.  Deane's 
conduct  and  address,  I  shall  therefore  make  a  few  remarks 
on  what  has  already  appeared  in  the  papers,  and  furnish  you 
with  some  interesting  and  explanatory  facts ;  and  whatever 
I  may  conceive  necessary  to  say  of  myself  will  conclude  the 
piece.  As  it  is  my  design  to  make  those  that  can  scarcely 
read  understand,  I  shall  therefore  avoid  every  literary  orna- 
ment, and  put  it  in  language  as  plain  as  the  alphabet. 

I  desire  the  public  to  understand  that  this  is  not  a  personal 
dispute  between  Mr.  Deane  and  me,  but  is  a  matter  of 
business  in  which  they  are  more  interested  than  they  seemed 
at  first  to  be  apprised  of.  I  rather  wonder  that  no  person 
was  curious  enough  to  ask  in  the  papers  how  affairs  stood 
between  Congress  and  Mr.  Deane  as  to  money  matters? 
And  likewise,  what  it  was  that  Mr.  Deane  has  so  repeatedly 
applied  to  the  Congress  for  without  success  ?  Perhaps  those 
two  Questions,  properly  asked,  and  justly  answered,  would 
have  unravelled  a  great  part  of  the  mystery,  and  explained 
the  reason  why  he  threw  out,  at  such  2,  particular  time,  such 
a  strange  address.  They  might  likewise  have  asked,  whether 
there  had  been  any  former  dispute  between  Mr.  Deane  and 
Arthur  or  William  Lee,  and  what  it  was  about  ?  Mr.  Deane's 
round-about  charges  against  the  Lees,  are  accompanied  with 
a  kind  of  rancor,  that  differs  exceedingly  from  public-spirited 
zeal.  For  my  part,  I  have  but  a  very  slender  opinion  of 
those  patriots,  if  they  can  be  called  such,  who  never  appear 
till  provoked  to  it  by  a  personal  quarrel,  and  then  blaze 

'  From  the  Pennsylvania  Packet  oi  December  31,  1778,  and  January  2,  5,  7, 
and  g,  1779. — Editor. 

40q 


4IO  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


away,  the  hero  of  their  own  tale,  and  in  a  whirhvind  of 
their  own  raising ;  such  men  are  very  seldom  what  the 
populace  mean  by  the  word  "  staunch,"  and  it  is  only  by  a 
continuance  of  service  that  any  public  can  become  a  judge 
of  a  man's  principles. 

When  I  first  took  up  this  matter,  I  expected  at  least  ta 
be  abused,  and  I  have  not  been  disappointed.  It  was  the 
last  and  only  refuge  they  had,  and,  thank  God,  I  had  noth- 
ing to  dread  from  it.  I  might  have  escaped  it  if  I  would, 
either  by  being  silent,  or  by  joining  in  the  tumult.  A 
gentleman,  a  Member  of  Congress,  an  Associate,  I  believe,  of 
Mr.  Deane's,  and  one  whom  I  would  wish  had  not  a  hand  in 
the  piece  signed  Plain  Truth,  very  politely  asked  me,  a  few 
days  before  Common  Sense  to  Mr.  Deane  came  out,  whether 
on  that  subject  I  was  pro  or  con  ?  I  replied,  I  knew  no  pro 
or  con,  nor  any  other  sides  than  right  or  wrong. 

Mr.  Deane  had  objected  to  my  putting  the  signature  of 
Common  Sense  to  my  address  to  him,  and  the  gentleman 
who  came  to  my  lodgings  urged  the  same  objections ;  their 
reasons  for  so  doing  may,  I  think,  be  easily  guessed  at. 
The  signature  has,  I  believe,  an  extensive  reputation,  and 
which,  I  trust,  will  never  be  forfeited  while  in  my  possession. 
As  I  do  not  chuse  to  comply  with  the  proposal  that  was 
made  to  me  for  changing  it,  therefore  Mr.  Plain  Truth,  as 
he  calls  himself,  and  his  connections,  may  endeavour  to  take 
off  from  the  credit  of  the  signature,  by  a  torrent  of  low- 
toned  abuse  without  wit,  matter  or  sentiment. 

Had  Mr.  Deane  confined  himself  to  his  proper  line  of 
conduct,  he  would  never  have  been  interrupted  by  me,  or 
exposed  himself  to  suspicious  criticism.  But  departing  from 
this,  he  has  thrown  himself  on  the  ocean  of  the  public,  where 
nothing  but  the  firmest  integrity  can  preserve  him  from 
becoming  a  wreck.  A  smooth  and  flattering  tale  may  do 
for  a  while,  but  unless  it  can  be  supported  with  facts,  and 
maintained  by  the  most  incontestible  proof,  it  will  fall  to 
the  ground,  and  leave  the  inventor  in  the  lurch. 

On  the  first  view  of  things,  there  is  something  in  Mr. 
Deane's  conduct  which  must  appear  mysterious  to  every 


1778]     TO  THE  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE'S  AFFAIR.  4II 


disinterested  man,  if  he  will  but  give  himself  time  to  reflect. 
Mr.  Deane  has  been  arrived  in  America,  and  in  this  city, 
upwards  of  five  months,  and  had  he  been  possessed  of  any 
secrets  which  affected,  or  seemed  to  affect,  the  interest  of 
America,  or  known  any  kind  of  treachery,  misconduct,  or 
neglect  of  duty  in  any  of  the  other  Commissioners,  or  in  any 
other  person,  he  ought,  as  an  honest  man,  to  have  disclosed 
it  immediately  on  his  arrival,  either  to  the  Committee  for 
Foreign  Affairs,  of  which  I  have  the  honor  to  be  Secretary, 
or  to  Congress.  Mr.  Deane  has  done  neither,  notwithstand- 
ing he  has  had  two  audiences  with  Congress  in  August  last, 
and  might  at  any  time  have  laid  his  written  information  before 
them,  or  before  the  Committee,  through  whom  all  his  foreign 
concerns  had  passed,  and  in  whose  hands,  or  rather  in  mine, 
are  lodged  all  his  political  correspondence,  and  those  of  other 
Commissioners. 

From  an  unwillingness  to  expose  Mr.  Deane  and  his  ad- 
herents too  much,  I  contented  myself  in  my  first  piece  with 
showing  their  inconsistency  rather  than  their  intentions,  and 
gave  them  room  to  retract  by  concealing  their  discredit.  It 
is  necessary  that  I  should  now  speak  a  plainer  language. 

The  public  have  totally  mistaken  this  matter,  and  when 
they  come  to  understand  it  rightly,  they  will  see  it  in  a  very 
different  light  to  what  they  at  first  supposed  it.  They 
seemed  to  conceive,  and  great  pains  have  been  taken  to 
make  them  believe,  that  Mr.  Deane  had  repeatedly  applied 
to  Congress  to  obtain  an  audience,  in  order  to  lay  before 
them  some  great  and  important  discoveries,  and  that  the 
Congress  had  refused  to  hear  such  information.  It  is,  Gentle- 
men, no  such  thing.  If  Mr.  Deane  or  any  one  else  had  told 
you  so,  they  have  imposed  upon  you. 

If  you  attend  to  a  part  of  Mr.  Deane's  Address  to  you, 
you  will  find  there,  even  from  his  own  account,  what  it  was 
that  he  wanted  an  interview  with  Congress  for,  viz.  to  get 
some  how  or  other  through  his  own  perplext  affairs,  and  obtain 
an  audience  of  leave  and  departure  that  he  might  embark  for 
France,  and  which  if  he  could  have  obtained,  there  is  every 
reason  to  believe,  he  would  have  quitted  America  in  silence, 


412  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


and  that  the  public  would  never  have  been  favored  with  his 
address,  nor  I  plagued  with  the  trouble  of  putting  it  to  rights. 
The  part  which  I  allude  to  is  this  "  and  having  placed  my 
papers  and  yours  in  safety,  I  left  Paris,  in  full  confidence  that 
I  sJiould  not  be  detained  in  America,''  to  which  he  adds  this 
curious  expression,  "  on  the  business  I  was  sent  for."  To 
be  detained"  at  home  is  a  new  transposition  of  ideas, 
especially  in  a  man  who  had  been  absent  from  it  two  years 
and  a  half,  and  serves  to  show  that  Mr.  Deane  was  become 
so  wonderfully  foreignized  that  he  had  quite  forgotten  poor 
Connecticut. 

As  I  shall  have  frequent  occasions  to  make  use  of  the 
name  of  Congress,  I  request  you  to  suspend  all  kind  of 
opinions  on  any  supposed  obligations  which  I  am  said  to  lie 
under  to  that  body,  till  you  hear  what  I  have  to  say  in  the 
conclusion  of  this  address,  for  if  Mr.  Deane's  accounts  stand 
as  clear  with  them  as  mine  do,  he  might  very  easily  have 
brought  his  papers  from  France.  I  have  several  times  re- 
peated, and  I  again  repeat  it,  that  my  whole  design  in  taking 
this  matter  up,  was  and  is,  to  prevent  the  public  being 
imposed  upon,  and  the  event  must  and  will  convince  them 
of  it. 

I  now  proceed  to  put  the  affiair  into  such  a  straight  line 
that  you  cannot  misunderstand  it. 

Mr.  Deane  wrote  his  address  to  you  some  time  in  Novem- 
ber, and  kept  it  by  him  in  order  to  publish  or  not  as  it 
might  suit  his  purpose.*    On  the  30th  day  of  the  same 

*  This  is  fully  proved  by  the  address  itself  which  is  dated  November,  but 
without  any  day  of  the  month,  and  the  same  is  likewise  acknowledged  by  his 
blundering  friend  Mr.  Plain  Truth.  His  words  are,  "  Mr.  Deane,  it  is  true, 
wrote  his  address  "  (dated  November)  "  previous  to  his  application  to  Congress, 
of  the  30th  of  November."  He  certainly  could  not  write  it  after,  there  being, 
unfortunately  for  him,  but  thirty  days  in  that  month  ;  "  but,"  continues  Mr. 
Plain  Truth,  "  he  was  determined  notwithstanding  some  forceable  reasons,  which 
the  vigilant  part  of  the  publick  are  at  no  loss  to  guess,  not  to  publish  it  if  he  could 
be  assured  of  an  earfy  audience  with  Congress."  Mr.  Deane  was  in  a  con- 
founded hurry,  sure  that  he  could  not  submit  to  be  detained  in  America  till  the 
next  day,  for  on  that  very  next  day,  December  ist,  in  consequence  of  his  letter 
the  Congress,  "  Resolved  to  spend  two  hours  each  day,  beginning  at  six  in  the 
evening,  till  the  state  of  their  foreign  affairs  should  be  fully  ascertained."  This 


1778]     TO  THE  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE'S  AFFAIR.  413 


month  he  applied  by  letter  to  Congress,  and  what  do  you 
think  it  was  for?  To  give  them  any  important  information? 
No.  To  "  tell  them  what  he  has  wrote  to  you  ?  "  No,  it  was 
to  acquaint  them  that  he  had  missed  agreeable  opporttinitics 
of  returning  to  France;  dismal  misfortune  indeed  !  And  that 
the  season  (of  the  year)  is  now  becoming  as  pressing  as  the 
business  which  calls  him  back,  and  therefore  he  earnestly 
entreated  the  attention  of  Congress,  to  what  ?  To  his  great  in- 
formation ?  No,  to  his  important  discoveries  ?  No,  but  to 
his  own  situation  and  requests.  These  are,  I  believe,  his  own 
words. 

Now  it  only  remains  to  know  whether  Mr.  Deane's  official 
affairs  were  in  a  fit  position  for  him  to  be  permitted  to  quit 
America  or  not ;  and  I  trust,  that  when  I  tell  you,  I  have 
been  secretary  for  foreign  affairs  almost  two  years,  you  will 
allow  that  I  must  be  some  judge  of  the  matter. 

You  have  already  heard  what  Mr.  Deane's  application  to 
Congress  was  for.  And  as  one  of  the  public,  under  the  well 
known  signature  of  Common  Sense,  I  humbly  conceive,  that 
the  Congress  have  done  that  which  as  a  faithful  body  of 

naturally  included,  all  and  every  part  of  Mr.  Deane's  affairs,  information  and 
everything  else,  and  it  is  impossible  but  he  (connected  as  he  is  with  some  late 
and  present  Members  of  Congress)  should  knovsr  immediately  about  it. 

I  should  be  glad  to  be  informed  what  those  "  forceable  reasons"  are  at  which 
the  vigilant  part  of  the  public  "guess  "  and  likewise  how  early  Mr.  Deane 
expected  an  audience,  since  the  resolution  of  the  next  day  appears  to  have  been 
too  late.  I  am  suspicious  that  it  was  too  soon,  and  that  Mr.  Deane  and  his 
connections  were  not  prepared  for  such  an  early  examination  notwithstanding 
he  had  been  here  upwards  of  five  months,  and  if  the  thing  is  to  be  "guessed"  at 
at  last,  and  that  by  the  vigilant  part  of  the  public,  I  think  I  have  as  great  a 
right  io  guess  as  most  men,  and  Mr.  Plain  Truth,  if  he  pleases,  may  guess  what 
I  mean  ;  but  lest  he  should  mistake  I  will  tell  him  my  guess,  it  is,  that  the 
whole  affair  is  a  juggle  to  amuse  the  people  with,  in  order  to  prevent  the  state 
of  foreign  affairs  being  enquired  into,  and  Mr.  Deane's  accounts,  and  those  he 
is  connected  with  in  America  settled  as  they  ought  to  be  ;  and  were  I  to  go  on 
guessing,  I  should  likewise  guess  that  this  is  the  reason  why  his  accounts  are  left 
behind,  though  I  know  many  people  inclined  to  guess  that  he  has  them  with  him 
but  has  forgot  them  ;  for  my  part  I  don't  chuse  at  present  to  go  so  far.  If  any 
one  can  give  a  better  guess  than  I  have  done  I  shall  give  mine  up,  but  as  the 
gentlemen  choose  to  submit  it  to  a  guess,  I  chuse  therefore  to  take  them  upon 
their  own  terms,  and  put  in  for  the  honor  of  being  right.  It  was,  I  think,  an 
injudicious  word  for  them  to  use,  especially  at  Christmas  time. — Author, 


414  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1778 


Representatives  they  ought  to  do,  that  is,  they  ordered  an 
enquiry  into  the  state  of  foreign  affairs  and  accounts  which 
Mr.  Deane  had  been  intrusted  with,  before  they  could,  with 
justice  to  you,  grant  the  request  he  asked  ;  And  this  was  the 
more  necessary  to  be  done,  because  Mr.  Deane  says  he  has 
left  his  papers  and  accounts  behind  him  :  Did  ever  any 
steward,  when  called  upon,  to  surrender  up  his  stewardship 
make  such  a  weak  and  frivolous  excuse  ?  Mr.  Deane  saw 
himself  not  only  recalled  but  superceeded  in  his  office  by 
another  person,  and  he  could  have  no  right  to  think  he 
should  return,  nor  any  pretence  to  come  away  without  the 
necessary  credentials. 

His  friend  and  associate,  and  perhaps  partner  too,  Mr. 
Plain  Truth,  says,  that  I  have  endeavored  in  my  address,  to 
"  throw  out  a  suggestion  that  Mr.  Deane  is  considered  by 
Congress  as  a  defaulter  of  public  money  "  :  The  gentlemen 
seem  to  wince  before  they  are  touched.  I  have  no  where 
said  so,  but  this  I  will  say,  that  his  accounts  are  not  satis- 
factory :  Mr.  Plain  Truth  endeavors  to  palliate  what  he  can- 
not contradict,  and  with  a  seeming  triumph  assures  the 
public  "  that  Mr.  Deane  not  long  after  his  arrival  laid  before 
Congress  2.  general  state  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  of 
the  Monies  which  passed  thro'  his  hands  "  ;  to  which  Mr. 
Plain  Truth  subjoins  the  following  extraordinary  apology : 
"  It  is  true  the  account  was  not  accompanied  with  all  the 
vouchers  for  the  particular  expenditures."  And  why  not  I 
ask?  for  without  those  it  was  no  account  at  all ;  it  was  what 
the  Sailors  call  a  boot  account,  so  much  money  gone  and 
the  Lord  knows  for  what.  Mr.  Deane  had  Secretaries  and 
clerks,  and  ought  to  have  known  better  than  to  produce 
such  an  account  to  Congress,  especially  as  his  colleague 
Arthur  Lee  had  declared  in  an  ofifice  letter,  which  is  in  my 
possession,  that  he  had  no  concern  in  Mr.  Deane's  contracts. 

Neither  does  the  excuse,  which  his  whirligig  friend  Mr. 
Plain  Truth  makes  for  him,  apply  to  his  case ;  this  random 
shot  gentleman,  in  order  to  bring  him  as  easily  off  as  possible, 
says,  "  that  any  person  in  the  least  conversant  with  business, 
knows  the  time  which  is  requisite  for  calling  in  manufacturers 


1778]     TO  THE  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE'S  AFFAIR.  415 


and  tradesmen's  bills,  and  prepare  accounts  and  vouchers  for 
a  final  settlement  "  ;  and  this  he  mentions  because  Mr.  Deane 
received  his  order  of  recall  the  4th  of  March,  and  left  Paris 
the  31st:  here  is,  however,  four  weeks  within  a  day.  I  shall 
make  three  remarks  upon  this  curious  excuse. 

First,  it  is  contradictory.  Mr.  Deane  could  not  obtain  the 
total  or  general  expenditure  without  having  the  particulars, 
therefore  he  must  be  in  the  possession  of  the  particulars. 
He  surely  did  not  pass  away  money  without  taking  receipts, 
and  what  was  due  upon  credit,  he  could  only  know  from  the 
bills  delivered  in. 

Secondly,  Mr.  Deane's  contracts  did  not  lay  in  the  retail 
way,  and  therefore  were  easily  collected. 

Thirdly,  The  accounts  which  it  was  Mr.  Deane's  particular 
•duty  to  settle,  were  those,  which  he  contracted  in  the  time 
of  being  only  a  commercial  Agent  in  1776,  before  the  arrival 
•of  Dr.  Franklin  and  Arthur  Lee,  which  separate  agency  of 
his  expired  upwards  of  fifteen  months  before  he  left  France, 
— and  surely  that  was  time  enough, — and  in  which  period  of 
his  agency,  there  happened  an  unexplained  contract  of  about 
two  hundred  thousand  pounds  sterling.  But  more  of  this 
when  I  come  to  remark  on  the  ridiculous  Puffs  with  which 
Mr.  Plain  Truth  has  set  off  Mr.  Deane's  pretended  Services 
in  France. 

Mr.  Deane  has  not  only  left  the  public  papers  and  accounts 
behind  him,  but  he  has  given  no  information  to  Congress, 
where  or  in  whose  hands  they  are ;  he  says  in  his  address  to 
you,  that  he  has  left  them  in  a  safe  place,  and  this  is  all 
which  is  known  of  the  matter.  Does  this  look  like  business  ? 
Has  it  an  open  and  candid  or  a  mysterious  and  suspicious 
appearance  ?  Or  would  it  have  been  right  in  Congress  to 
have  granted  Mr.  Deane  an  audience  of  leave  and  departure 
in  this  embarrassed  state  of  his  affairs  ?  And  because  they 
have  not,  his  ready  written  November  address  has  been 
thrown  out  to  abuse  them  and  amuse  you  by  directing  you 
to  another  object;  and  myself,  for  endeavoring  to  unriddle 
confusion,  have  been  loaded  with  reproach  by  his  partizans 
and  partners,  and  represented  as  a  writer,  who  like  an  un- 


41 6  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [177S 


principled  lawyer  had  let  himself  out  for  pay.  Charges 
which  the  propagators  of  them  know  to  be  false,  because 
some,  who  have  encouraged  the  report,  are  Members  of  Con- 
gress themselves,  and  know  my  situation  to  be  directly  the 
reverse.  But  this  I  shall  explain  in  the  conclusion ;  and  I 
give  the  gentlemen  notice  of  it,  that  if  they  can  make  out 
anything  against  me,  or  prove  that  I  ever  received  a  single 
farthing,  public  or  private,  for  any  thing  I  ever  wrote,  they 
may  convict  me  publicly,  and  if  they  do  not,  I  hope  they 
will  be  honest  enough  to  take  shame  to  themselves,  for  the 
falsehood  they  have  supported.  And  I  likewise  request 
that  they  would  inform  the  public  what  my  salary  as  Secre- 
tary for  foreign  affairs  is,  otherwise  I  shall  be  obliged  to  do 
it  myself.  I  shall  not  spare  them  and  I  beg  they  would  not 
spare  me.    But  to  return — 

There  is  something  in  this  concealment  of  papers  that 
looks  like  an  embezzlement.  Mr.  Deane  came  so  privately 
from  France,  that  he  even  concealed  his  departure  from  his 
colleague  Arthur  Lee,  of  which  he  complains  by  a  letter  in 
my  office,  and  consequently  the  papers  are  not  in  his  hands  ; 
and  had  he  left  them  with  Dr.  Franklin  he  would  undoubt- 
edly have  taken  the  Doctor's  receipt  for  them,  and  left  no- 
body to  "guess,"  at  what  Mr.  Deane  meant  by  a  safe  place: 
A  man  may  leave  his  own  private  affairs  in  the  hands  of  a 
friend,  but  the  papers  of  a  nation  are  of  another  nature,  and 
ought  never  to  be  trusted  with  any  person  whatever  out  of 
the  direct  line  of  business.  This  I  conceive  to  be  another 
reason  which  justifies  Congress  in  not  granting  Mr.  Deane 
an  audience  of  leave  and  departure  till  they  are  assured 
where  those  papers  are.  Mr.  Deane  might  have  been  taken 
at  sea,  he  might  have  died  or  been  cast  away  on  his  passage 
back  from  France,  or  he  might  have  been  settled  there,  as 
Madame  D'Eon  did  in  England,  and  quarrelled  afterwards  as 
she  did  with  the  power  that  employed  him.  Many  accidents 
might  have  happened  by  which  those  papers  and  accounts 
might  have  been  totally  lost,  the  secrets  got  into  the  hands 
of  the  enemy,  and  the  possibility  of  settling  the  expenditure 
of  public  money  for  ever  prevented.    No  apology  can  be 


1778]      TO  THE  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEAJVE'S  AFFAIR.  417 


made  for  Mr.  Deane,  as  to  the  danger  of  the  seas,  or  their 
being  taken  by  the  enemy,  in  his  attempt  to  bring  them 
over  himself,  because  it  ought  always  to  be  remembered 
that  he  came  in  a  fleet  of  twelve  sail  of  the  line.' 

I  shall  now  quit  this  part  of  the  subject  to  take  notice  of 
a  paragraph  in  Mr.  Plain  Truth. 

In  my  piece  to  Mr.  Deane  I  said,  that  his  address  was 
dated  in  November,  without  any  day  of  the  month,  that  on 
the  last  day  of  that  month  he  applied  to  Congress,  that  on 
the  1st  of  December  the  Congress  resolved  to  investigate  the 
state  of  their  foreign  affairs,  of  which  Mr.  Deane  had  notice, 
and  that  on  the  fourth  he  informed  them  of  his  receiving 
that  notification  and  expressed  his  thanks,  yet  that  on  the 
fifth  he  published  his  extraordinary  address. 

Mr.  Plain  Truth,  in  commenting  upon  this  arrangement 
of  facts  has  helped  me  to  a  new  discovery.  He  says,  that 
Mr.  Deane's  thanks  of  the  fourth  of  December  were  only 
expressed  to  the  President,  Henry  Laurens  Esqr:  for  per- 
sonally informing  him  of  the  resolution  and  other  attention 
to  his  Affairs,  and  not,  as  I  had  said,  to  Congress  for  the  reso- 
lution itself.  I  give  him  credit  for  this,  and  believe  it  to  be 
true  ;  for  my  opinion  of  the  matter  is,  that  Mr.  Deane's 
views  were  to  get  off  without  any  enquiry,  and  that  the 
resolution  referred  to  was  his  great  disappointment.  By  all 
accounts  which  have  been  given  both  by  Mr.  Deane's  friends 
and  myself,  we  all  agree  in  this,  that  Mr.  Deane  knew  of  the 
resolution  of  Congress  before  he  published  his  address,  and 
situated  as  he  is  he  could  not  help  knowing  it  two  or  three 
days  before  his  address  came  out.  Why  then  did  he  pub- 
lish it,  since  the  very  thing  which  he  ought  to  have  asked  for, 
viz.  an  enquiry  into  his  affairs,  was  ordered  to  be  immedi- 
ately gone  into  ? 

'  There  is  now  little  doubt  that  Deane  left  his  papers  in  the  hands  of  the 
British  spy  George  Lupton,  whom  he  employed  as  a  clerk,  and  who  gave  his 
English  employers  regular  information,  and  the  American  Dr.  Edward  Bancroft, 
who  was  so  royally  paid  by  England.  See  Donne's  "Letters  of  George  III. 
to  Lord  North";  also  Stevens'  Facsimiles.  Had  the  King's  correspondence 
been  known  in  1842,  Deane's  family  would  never  have  received  from  Congress 
the  money  voted  them. — Editor. 


4l8  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAIiVE.  [l779 


I  wish  in  this  place  to  step  for  a  moment  from  the  floor 
of  office,  and  press  it  on  every  State,  to  enquire  what  mer- 
cantile connections  any  of  their  late  or  present  Delegates 
have  had  or  now  have  with  Mr.  Deane,  and  that  a  precedent 
might  not  be  wanting,  it  is  important  that  this  State,  Penn- 
sylvania should  begin. 

The  uncommon  fury  which  has  been  spread  to  support 
Mr.  Deane  cannot  be  altogether  for  his  sake.  Those  who 
were  the  original  propagators  of  it,  are  not  remarkable  for 
gratitude.  If  they  excel  in  anything  it  is  in  the  contrary 
principle  and  a  selfish  attachment  to  their. own  interest.  It 
would  suit  their  plan  exceedingly  well  to  have  Mr.  Deane 
appointed  Ambassador  to  Holland,  because  so  situated,  he 
would  make  a  very  convenient  partner  in  trade,  or  a  useful 
factor. 

In  order  to  rest  Mr.  Deane  on  the  shoulders  of  the  Public, 
he  has  been  set  off  with  the  most  pompous  puffs— The 
Saviour  of  his  Country — the  Patriot  of  America — the  True 
Friend  of  the  Public — the  Great  Supporter  of  the  cause  in 
Europe, — and  a  thousand  other  full-blown  bubbles,  equally 
ridiculous  and  equally  untrue.  Never  were  the  public  more 
wretchedly  imposed  upon.  An  attempt  was  made  to  call  a 
town  meeting  to  return  him  thanks  and  to  march  in  a  body 
to  Congress  to  demand  justice  for  Mr.  Deane.  And  this 
brings  me  to  a  part  in  Mr.  Plain  Truth's  address  to  me,  in 
which  he  speaks  of  Mr.  Deane's  services  in  France,  and 
defies  me  to  disprove  them.  If  any  late  or  present  Member 
•of  Congress  has  been  concerned  in  writing  that  piece,  I 
think  it  necessary  to  tell  him,  that  he  either  knows  very 
little  of  the  state  of  foreign  affairs,  or  ought  to  blush  in  thus 
attempting  to  rob  a  friendly  nation,  France,  of  her  honors, 
to  bestow  them  on  a  man  who  so  little  deserves  them. 

Mr.  Deane  was  sent  to  France  in  the  Spring,  1776,  as  a 
Commercial  Agent,  under  the  authority  of  the  Committee 
which  is  now  stiled  the  Committee  for  foreign  affairs.  He 
had  no  Commission  of  any  kind  from  Congress ;  and  his 
instructions  were  to  assume  no  other  character  but  that  of 
a  merchant ;  yet  in  this  line  of  action  Mr.  Plain  Truth  has 


1779]  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE'S  AFFAIR.  419 


the  ignorance  to  dub  him  a  "  public  Minister"  and  likewise 
says, 

"  that  before  the  first  of  December,  after  his  arrival  he  had  formed 
and  cultivated  the  esteem  of  a  valuable  political  and  commercial 
connection,  not  only  in  France  but  in  other  parts  of  Europe,  laid 
the  foundation  of  a  public  loan,  procured  thirty  thousand  stand 
of  arms,  thirty  thousand  suits  of  cloathes,  more  than  two  hundred 
and  fifty  pieces  of  brass  cannon,  and  a  great  amount  of  tents  and 
military  stores,  provided  vessels  to  transport  them,  and  in  spite  of 
various  and  almost  inconceivable  obstructions  great  part  of  these 
articles  were  shipped  and  arrived  in  America  before  the  operations 
of  the  campaign  in  1777."  To  which  Mr.  Plain  Truth  adds, 
"  That  he  has  had  the  means  of  being  acquainted  with  all  these 
circumstances,  avows  them  to  be  facts,  and  defies  Common  Sense 
or  any  other  person  to  disprove  them." 

Poor  Mr.  Plain  Truth,  and  his  avower  Mr.  Clarkson,  have 
most  unfortunately  for  them  challenged  the  wrong  person, 
and  fallen  into  the  right  hands  when  they  fell  into  mine,  for 
without  stirring  a  step  from  the  room  I  am  writing  in,  or 
asking  a  single  question  of  any  one,  I  have  it  in  my  power, 
not  only  to  contradict  but  disprove  it. 

It  is,  I  confess,  a  nice  point  to  touch  upon,  but  the  neces- 
sity of  undeceiving  the  public  with  respect  to  Mr.  Deane, 
and  the  right  they  have  to  know  the  early  friendship  of  the 
French  Nation  towards  them  at  the  time  of  their  greatest 
wants,  will  justify  my  doing  it.  I  feel  likewise  the  less  diffi- 
culty in  it,  because  the  whole  affair  respecting  those  supplies 
has  been  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy  at  least  twelve  months, 
and  consequently  the  necessity  for  concealing  it  is  super- 
ceded :  Besides  which,  the  two  nations,  viz.  France  and 
England,  being  now  come  to  an  open  rupture  makes  the 
secret  unnecessary.  It  was  immediately  on  the  discovery  of 
this  affair  by  the  enemy  fifteen  months  ago,  that  the  British 
Ministry  began  to  change  their  ground  and  planned  what 
they  call  their  Conciliatory  Bills.  They  got  possession  of 
this  secret  by  stealing  the  dispatches  of  October,  1777,  which 
should  have  come  over  by  Captain  Folger,  and  this  likewise 


420  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i779 


explains  the  Controversy  which  the  British  Commissioners 
carried  on  with  Congress,  in  attempting  to  prove  that  Eng- 
land had  planned  what  they  called  her  conciliatory  Bills, 
before  France  moved  towards  a  treaty  ;  for  even  admitting 
that  assertion  to  be  true,  the  case  is,  that  they  planned  those 
Bills  in  consequence  of  the  knowledge  they  had  stolen.* 

The  supplies  here  alluded  to,  are  those  which  were  sent 
from  France  in  the  Amphitrite,  Seine  and  Mercury  about 
two  years  ago.  They  had  at  first  the  appearance  of  a 
present,  but  whether  so,  or  on  credit,  the  service  was  never- 
theless a  great  and  friendly  one,  and  though  only  part  of 
them  arrived  the  kindness  is  the  same.  A  considerable  time 
afterwards  the  same  supplies  appeared  under  the  head  of  a 
charge  amounting  to  about  two  hundred  thousand  pounds 
sterling,  and  it  is  the  unexplained  contract  I  alluded  to 
when  I  spoke  of  the  pompous  puffs  made  use  of  to  support 
Mr.  Deane.  On  the  appearance  of  this  charge  the  Congress 
were  exceedingly  embarrassed  as  to  what  line  of  conduct  to 
pursue.    To  be  insensible  of  a  favor,  which  has  before  now 

*  When  Capt.  Folger  arrived  at  York-Town  [Pa.]  he  delivered  a  Packet 
which  contained  nothing  but  blank  paper,  that  had  been  put  under  the  cover  of 
the  dispatches  which  were  taken  out.  This  fraud  was  acted  by  the  person  to 
whom  they  were  first  intrusted  to  be  brought  to  America,  and  who  afterwards 
absconded,  having  given  by  way  of  deception  the  blank  packet  to  Capt.  Folger. 
The  Congress  were  by  this  means  left  without  any  information  of  European 
Affairs.  It  happened  that  a  private  letter  from  Dr.  Franklin  to  myself,  in 
which  he  wrote  to  me  respecting  my  undertaking  the  history  of  the  present  rev- 
olution, and  engaged  to  furnish  me  with  all  his  materials  towards  the  completion 
of  that  work,  escaped  the  pilfering  by  not  being  enclosed  in  the  packet  with  the 
dispatches.  I  received  this  letter  at  Lancaster  through  the  favor  of  the  Presi- 
dent, Henry  Laurens,  Esqr.,  and  as  it  was  the  only  letter  which  contained  any 
authentic  intelligence  of  the  general  state  of  our  affairs  in  France,  I  transmitted 
it  again  to  him  to  be  communicated  to  Congress.  This  likewise  was  the  only 
intelligence  which  was  received  from  France  from  May,  1777,  to  May  2d,  1778, 
when  the  treaty  arrived  ;  wherefore,  laying  aside  the  point  controverted  by  the 
British  Commissioners  as  to  which  moved  first, France  or  England,  it  is  evident 
that  the  resolutions  of  Congress  of  April  22d,  1778,  for  totally  rejecting  the 
British  Bills,  were  grounded  entirely  on  the  determination  of  America  to  sup- 
port her  cause,  —  a  circumstance  which  gives  the  highest  honour  to  the  resolutions 
alluded  to,  and  at  the  same  time  gives  such  a  character  of  her  fortitude  as 
heightens  her  value,  when  considered  as  an  ally,  which  though  it  had  at  that 
time  taken  place,  was,  to  her,  perfectly  unknown. — Author. 


1779]  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE'S  AEFAIR.         42 1 


been  practised  between  nations,  would  have  implied  a  want 
of  just  conceptions  ;  and  to  have  refused  it  would  have  been 
a  species  of  proud  rusticity.  To  have  asked  the  question 
was  both  difficult  and  awkward ;  to  take  no  notice  of  it 
would  have  been  insensibility  itself ;  and  to  have  seemed 
backward  in  payment,  if  they  were  to  be  paid  for,  would  have 
impeached  both  the  justice  and  the  credit  of  America.  In 
this  state  of  difficulties  such  enquiries  were  made  as  were 
judged  necessary,  in  order  that  Congress  might  know  how 
to  proceed.  Still  nothing  satisfactory  could  be  obtained. 
The  answer  which  Mr.  Deane  signed  so  lately  as  February 
i6th  last  past  (and  who  ought  to  know  most  of  the  matter, 
because  the  shipping  the  supplies  was  while  he  acted  alone) 
is  as  ambiguous  as  the  rest  of  his  conduct.  I  will  venture  to 
give  it,  as  there  is  no  poHtical  secret  in  it  and  the  matter 
wants  explanation. 

"  Hear  that  Mr.  B  [eaumarchais]  has  sent  over  a  person  to  de- 
mand a  large  sum  of  you  on  account  of  arms,  ammunition,  etc., 
— think  it  will  be  best  for  you  to  leave  that  matter  to  be  settled 
here  (France),  as  there  is  a  mixture  in  it  of  public  and  private 
concern  which  you  cannot  so  well  develop." 

Why  did  not  Mr.  Deane  compleat  the  contract  so  as  it 
might  be  developed,  or  at  least  state  to  Congress  any  diffi- 
culties that  had  arisen  ?  When  Mr.  Deane  had  his  two 
audiences  with  Congress  in  August  last,  he  objected,  or  his 
friends  for  him,  against  his  answering  the  questions  that 
might  be  asked  him,  and  the  ground  upon  which  the  objec- 
tion was  made,  was,  because  a  man  could  not  legally  be  com- 
pelled to  miswer  questions  that  might  tend  to  criminate  him- 
self.— Yet  this  is  the  same  Mr.  Deane  whose  address  you 
saw  in  the  Pe7t7isylvania  Packet  of  December  5  signed  Silas 
Deane. 

Having  thus  shewn  the  loose  manner  of  Mr.  Deane's  doing 
business  in  France,  which  is  rendered  the  more  intricate  by 
his  leaving  his  papers  behind,  or  his  not  producing  them  ;  I 
come  now  to  enquire  into  what  degree  of  merit  or  credit  Mr. 


422  THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i779 


Deane  is  entitled  to  as  to  the  procuring  these  supphes,  either 
as  a  present  or  a  purchase. 

Mr.  Plain  Truth  has  given  him  the  whole.  Mr.  Plain 
Truth  therefore  knows  nothing  of  the  matter,  or  something 
worse.  If  Mr.  Deane  or  any  other  gentleman  will  procure 
an  order  from  Congress  to  inspect  an  account  in  my  office, 
or  any  of  Mr.  Deane's  friends  in  Congress  will  take  the 
trouble  of  coming  themselves,  I  will  give  him  or  them  my 
attendance  and  show  them  in  a  handwriting  which  Mr.  Deane 
is  well  acquainted  with,  that  the  supplies,  he  so  pompously 
plumes  himself  upon,  were  promised  and  engaged,  and  that 
as  a  present,  before  he  ever  arrived  in  France,  and  the  part 
that  fell  to  Mr.  Deane  was  only  to  see  it  done,  and  how  he 
has  performed  that  service,  the  public  are  now  acquainted 
with.  The  last  paragraph  in  the  account  is,  "  Upon  Mr. 
Deane  s  arrival  in  France  the  business  went  into  his  ha7ids  and 
the  aids  were  at  length  embarked  in  the  Amphitrite,  Mercury 
and  Seine." 

What  will  Mr.  Deane  or  his  Aid  de  Camp  say  to  this,  or 
what  excuse  will  they  make  now  ?  If  they  have  met  with 
any  cutting  truths  from  me,  they  must  thank  themselves  for 
it.  My  address  to  Mr.  Deane  was  not  only  moderate  but 
civil,  and  he  and  his  adherents  had  much  better  have  sub- 
mitted to  it  quietly,  than  provoked  more  material  matter  to 
appear  against  them.  I  had  at  that  time  all  the  facts  in  my 
hands  which  I  have  related  since,  or  shall  yet  relate  in  my 
reply.  The  only  thing  I  aimed  at  in  the  address,  was,  to 
give  out  just  as  much  as  might  prevent  the  public  from 
being  so  grossly  imposed  upon  by  them,  and  yet  save  Mr. 
Deane  and  his  adherents  from  appearing  too  wretched  and 
despicable.  My  fault  was  a  misplaced  tenderness,  which 
they  must  now  be  fully  sensible  of,  and  the  misfortune  to 
them,  is,  that  I  have  not  yet  done. 

Had  Mr.  Plain  Truth  only  informed  the  Public  that  Mr. 
Deane  had  been  industrious  in  promoting  and  forwarding 
the  sending  the  supplies,  his  assertion  would  have  passed 
uncontradicted  by  me,  because  I  must  naturally  suppose 
that  Mr.  Deane  would  do  no  otherwise ;  but  to  give  him  the 


1779]  THE  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE'S  AFFAIR.  423 


whole  and  sole  honour  of  procuring  them,  and  that,  without 
yielding  any  part  of  the  honor  to  the  public  spirit  and 
good  disposition  of  those  who  furnished  them,  and  who 
likewise  must  in  every  shape  have  put  up  with  the  total  loss 
of  them  had  America  been  overpowered  by  her  enemies, 
is,  in  my  opinion,  placing  the  reputation  and  affection  of  our 
allies  not  only  in  a  disadvantageous,  but  in  an  unjust  point 
of  view,  and  concealing  from  the  public  what  they  ought  to 
know. 

Mr.  Plain  Truth  declares  that  he  knows  all  the  circum- 
stances, why  then  did  he  not  place  them  in  a  proper  line, 
and  give  the  public  a  clear  information  how  they  arose  ? 
The  proposal  for  sending  over  those  supplies,  appears  to 
have  been  originally  made  by  some  public  spirited  gentleman 
in  France,  before  ever  Mr.  Deane  arrived  there,  or  was  known 
or  heard  of  in  that  Country,  and  to  have  been  communicated 
(personally  by  Mr.  Beaumarchais,  the  gentleman  mentioned 
in  the  letter  signed  J.  L.  which  letter  is  given  at  length  by 
Mr.  Plain  Truth)  to  Mr.  Arthur  Lee  while  resident  in  Lon- 
don about  three  years  ago.  From  Mr.  B's  manner  of  ex- 
pression, Mr.  Lee  understood  the  supplies  to  be  a  present, 
and  has  signified  it  in  that  light.  It  is  very  easy  to  see  that 
if  America  had  miscarried,  they  must  have  been  a  present, 
which  probably  adds  explanation  to  the  matter.  But  Mr. 
Deane  is  spoken  of  by  Mr.  Plain  Truth,  as  having  an 
importance  of  his  own,  and  procuring  those  supplies  through 
that  importance ;  whereas  he  could  only  rise  and  fall  with 
the  country  that  empowered  him  to  act,  and  be  in  or  ottt  of 
credit,  as  to  money  matters,  from  the  same  cause  and  in  the 
same  proportion  ;  and  every  body  must  suppose,  that  there 
were  greater  and  more  original  wheels  at  work  than  he  was 
capable  of  setting  in  motion.  Exclusive  of  the  matter  being 
begun  before  Mr.  Deane's  arrival,  Mr.  Plain  Truth  has  given 
him  the  whole  merit  of  every  part  of  the  transaction.  America 
and  France  are  wholly  left  out  of  the  question,  the  former 
as  to  her  growing  importance  and  credit,  from  which  all  Mr. 
Deane's  consequence  was  derived,  and  the  latter,  as  to  her 
generosity  in  furnishing  those  supplies,  at  a  time,  when  the 


424  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  Li779 


risk  of  losing  them  appears  to  have  been  as  great  as  our 
want  of  them. 

I  have  ahvays  understood  thus  much  of  the  matter,  that 
if  we  did  not  succeed  no  payment  would  be  required,  and  I 
think  myself  fully  entitled  to  believe,  and  to  publish  my  be- 
lief, that  whether  Mr.  Deane  had  arrived  in  France  or  not, 
or  any  other  gentleman  in  his  stead,  those  same  supplies 
would  have  found  their  way  to  America.  But  as  the  nature 
of  the  contract  has  not  been  explained  by  any  of  Mr.  Deane's 
letters  and  is  left  in  obscurity  by  the  account  he  signed  the 
i6th  of  February  last,  which  I  have  already  quoted,  therefore 
the  full  explanation  must  rest  upon  other  authority. 

I  have  been  the  more  explicit  on  this  subject,  not  so  much 
on  Mr.  Deane's  account,  as  from  a  principle  of  public  justice. 
It  shews,  in  the  first  instance,  that  the  greatness  of  the 
American  cause  drew,  at  its  first  beginning,  the  attention  of 
Europe,  and  that  the  justness  of  it  was  such  as  appeared  to 
merit  support ;  and  in  the  second  instance,  that  those  who 
are  now  her  allies,  prefaced  that  alliance  by  an  early  and 
generous  friendship ;  yet,  that  we  might  not  attribute  too 
much  to  human  or  auxiliary  aid,  so  unfortunate  were  those 
supplies,  that  only  one  ship  out  of  the  three  arrived.  The 
Mercury  and  Seine  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  enemy. 

Mr.  Deane,  in  his  address,  speaks  of  himself  as  "  sacrificed 
for  the  agrandizement  of  others"  and  promises  to  inform  the 
public  of  "  Tvhat  he  has  done  and  zvhat  he  has  suffered." 
What  Mr.  Deane  means  by  being  sacrificed  the  Lord  knows, 
and  what  he  has  siffcred  is  equally  as  mysterious.  It  was 
his  good  fortune  to  be  situated  in  an  elegant  country  and  at 
a  public  charge,  while  we  were  driven  about  from  pillar  to 
post.  He  appears  to  know  but  little  of  the  hardships  and 
losses  which  his  countrymen  underwent  in  the  period  of  his 
fortunate  absence.  It  fell  not  to  his  lot  to  turn  out  to  a 
Winter's  campaign,  and  sleep  without  tent  or  blanket.  He 
returned  to  America  when  the  danger  was  over,  and  has 
since  that  time  suffered  no  personal  hardship.  What  then 
are  Mr.  Deane's  sufferings  and  what  the  sacrifices  he  com- 
plains of?    Has  he  lost  money  in  the  public  service?  I 


1779]  T^^^  PUBLIC  OX  MR.  DEANE'S  AFFAIR.  425 


believe  not.  Has  he  got  any?  That  I  cannot  tell.  I  can 
assure  him  that  I  have  not,  and  he,  if  he  pleases,  may  make 
the  same  declaration. 

Surely  the  Congress  might  recall  Mr.  Deane  if  they 
thought  proper,  without  an  insinuated  charge  of  injustice 
for  so  doing.  The  authority  of  America  must  be  little  in- 
deed when  she  cannot  change  a  Commissioner  without 
being  insulted  by  him.  And  I  conceive  Mr.  Deane  as 
speaking  in  the  most  disrespectful  language  of  the  Authority 
of  America  when  he  says  in  his  address,  that  in  December 
1776  he  was  "  honored  with  one  Colleague,  and  saddled  with 
another."  Was  Mr.  Deane  to  dictate  who  should  be  Com- 
missioner, and  who  should  not  ?  It  was  time,  however,  to 
saddle  him,  as  he  calls  it,  with  somebody,  as  I  shall  shew  be- 
fore I  conclude. 

When  we  have  elected  our  Representatives,  either  in  Con- 
gress or  in  the  Assembly,  it  is  for  our  own  good  that  we 
support  them  in  the  execution  of  that  authority  they  derive 
from  us.  If  Congress  is  to  be  abused  by  every  one  whom 
they  may  appoint  or  remove,  there  is  an  end  to  all  useful 
delegation  of  power,  and  the  public  accounts  in  the  hands  of 
individuals  will  never  be  settled.  There  has,  I  believe,  been 
too  much  of  this  work  practised  already,  and  it  is  time  that 
the  public  should  now  make  those  matters  a  point  of  con- 
sideration.   But  who  will  begin  the  disagreeable  talk  ? 

I  look  on  the  independence  of  America  to  be  as  firmly 
established  as  that  of  any  country  which  is  at  war.  Length 
of  time  is  no  guarantee  when  arms  are  to  decide  the  fate  of 
a  nation.  Hitherto  our  whole  anxiety  has  been  absorbed  in 
the  means  for  supporting  our  independence,  and  we  have 
paid  but  little  attention  to  the  expenditure  of  money ;  yet 
we  see  it  daily  depreciating,  and  how  should  it  be  otherwise 
when  so  few  public  Accounts  are  settled,  and  new  emissions 
continually  going  on  ? — I  will  venture  to  mention  one  cir- 
cumstance which  I  hope  Avill  be  sufficient  to  awaken  the 
attention  of  the  public  to  this  subject.  In  October,  1777, 
some  books  of  the  Commercial  Committee,  in  which,  among 
other  things,  were  kept  the  accounts  of  Mr.  Thomas  Morris, 


426 


THE  WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


appointed  a  Commercial  Agent  in  France,  were  by  Mr. 
Robert  Morris's  request  taken  into  his  possession  to  be  set- 
tled, he  having  obtained  from  the  Council  of  this  State  six 
months'  leave  of  absence  from  Congress  to  settle  his  affairs. 
In  February  following  those  books  were  called  for  by  Con- 
gress, but  not  being  compleated  were  not  delivered.  In 
September,  1778  Mr.  Morris  returned  them  to  Congress,  in, 
or  nearly  in,  the  same  unsettled  state  he  took  them,  which, 
with  the  death  of  Mr.  Thomas  Morris,  may  probably  involve 
those  accounts  in  further  embarrassment.  The  amount  of 
expenditure  on  those  books  is  considerably  above  two  mil- 
lions of  dollars.* 

I  now  quit  this  subject  to  take  notice  of  a  paragraph  in 
Mr.  Plain  Truth,  relative  to  myself.  It  never  fell  to  my  lot 
to  have  to  do  with  a  more  illiberal  set  of  men  than  those  of 
Mr.  Deane's  advocates  who  were  concerned  in  writing  that 
piece.  They  have  neither  wit,  manners  nor  honesty ;  an  in- 
stance of  which  I  shall  now  produce.  In  speaking  of  Mr. 
Deane's  contracts  with  individuals  in  France  I  said  in  my 
address  "  We  are  all  fully  sensible,  that  the  gentlemen  who 
have  come  from  France  since  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Franklin  and 
Mr.  Lee  in  that  Country  are  of  a  different  rank  from  the  gen- 
erality of  those  with  whom  Mr.  Deane  contracted  when  alone," 
These  are  the  exact  words  I  used  in  my  address. 

*  There  is  an  article  in  the  constitution  of  this  state,  which,  were  it  at  this 
time  introduced  as  a  Continental  regulation,  might  be  of  infinite  service  ;  I  mean 
a  Council  of  Censors  to  inspect  into  the  expenditure  of  public  money  and  call 
defaulters  to  an  account.  It  is,  in  my  opinion,  one  of  the  best  things  in  the 
Constitution,  and  that  which  the  people  ought  never  to  give  up,  and  whenever 
they  do  they  will  deserve  to  be  cheated.  It  has  not  the  most  favourable  look 
that  those  who  are  hoping  to  succeed  to  the  government  of  this  state,  by  a 
change  in  the  Constitution,  are  so  anxious  to  get  that  article  abolished.  Let  ex- 
penses be  ever  so  great,  only  let  them  be  fair  and  necessary,  and  no  good  citizen 
will  grumble. 

Perhaps  it  may  be  said,  Why  do  not  the  Congress  do  those  things?  To  which 
I  might,  by  another  question  reply,  Why  don't  you  support  them  when  they 
attempt  it?  It  is  not  quite  so  easy  a  matter  to  accomplish  that  point  in  Con- 
gress as  perhaps  many  conceive  ;  men  will  always  find  friends  and  connections 
among  the  body  that  appoints  them,  which  will  render  all  such  enquiries  difiS- 
cult. — Author. 


1779]     TO  THE  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE' S  AFFAIR.  427 


Mr.  Plain  Truth  has  misquoted  the  above  paragraph  into 
his  piece,  and  that  in  a  manner,  which  shews  him  to  be  a  man 
of  little  reading  and  less  principle.  The  method  in  which  he 
has  quoted  it  is  as  follows :  "  All  are  fully  sensible  that  the 
gentlemen  who  came  from  France  since  the  arrival  of  Dr. 
Franklin  and  Mr.  Lee  in  that  country,  are  of  a  different  rank 
from  those  with  whom  Mr.  Deane  contracted  when  acting 
separately."  Thus  by  leaving  out  the  words  the  generality 
of"  Mr.  Plain  Truth  has  altered  the  sense  of  my  expression, 
so  as  to  suit  a  most  malicious  purpose  in  his  own,  which  could 
be  no  other,  than  that  of  embroiling  me  with  the  French  gen- 
tlemen that  have  remained  ;  whereas  it  is  evident,  that  my 
mode  of  expression  was  intended  to  do  justice  to  such  char- 
acters as  Fleury  and  Touzard,  by  making  a  distinction  they 
are  clearly  entitled  to.  Mr.  Plain  Truth  not  content  with 
unjustly  subjecting  me  to  the  misconceptions  of  those  gen- 
tlemen, with  whom  even  explanation  was  difficult  on  account 
of  the  language,  but  in  addition  to  his  injustice,  endeavoured 
to  provoke  them  to  it  by  calling  on  them,  and  reminding 
them  that  they  were  the  "  Guardians  of  their  own  honour." 
And  I  have  reason  to  believe,  that  either  Mr.  Plain  Truth  or 
some  of  the  party  did  not  even  stop  here,  but  went  so  far  as 
personally  to  excite  them  on.  Mr.  Fleury  came  to  my  lodg- 
ings and  complained  that  I  had  done  him  great  injustice,  but 
that  he  was  sure  I  did  not  intend  it,  because  he  was  certain 
that  I  knew  him  better.  He  confessed  to  me  that  he  was 
pointed  at  and  told  that  I  meant  him,  and  he  withal  desired, 
that  as  I  knew  his  services  and  character,  that  I  would  put 
the  matter  right  in  the  next  paper.  I  endeavoured  to  ex- 
plain to  him  that  the  mistake  was  not  mine,  and  we  parted. 
I  do  not  remember  that  in  the  course  of  my  reading  I  ever 
met  with  a  more  illiberal  and  malicious  mis-quotation,  and 
the  more  so  when  all  the  circumstances  are  taken  with  it. 
Yet  this  same  Mr.  Plain  Truth,  whom  no  body  knows,  has 
the  impertinence  to  give  himself  out  to  be  a  man  of  "  educa- 
tion "  and  to  inform  the  public  that  "  he  is  not  a  writer  from 
inclination  much  less  by  profession"  to  which  he  might  safely 
have  added,  still  less  by  capacity,  and  least  of  all  by  principle. 


428 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


As  Mr.  Clarkson  has  undertaken  to  avow  the  piece  signed 
Plain  Truth,  I  shall  therefore  consider  him  as  legally  account- 
able for  the  apparent  malicious  intentions  of  this  mis-quota- 
tion, and  he  may  get  whom  he  pleases  to  speak  or  write  a 
defence  of  him. 

I  conceive  that  the  general  distinction  I  referred  to  be- 
tween those  with  whom  Mr.  Deane  contracted  when  alone, 
and  those  who  have  come  from  France  since  the  arrival  of 
Dr.  Franklin  and  Mr.  Lee  in  that  Country,  is  sufificiently 
warranted.  That  gallant  and  amiable  officer  and  volunteer 
the  Marquis  de  la  Fayette,  and  some  others  whom  Mr.  Plain 
Truth  mentions,  did  not  come  from  France  till  after  the  ar- 
rival of  the  additional  Commissioners,  and  proves  my  asser- 
tion to  be  true.  My  remark  is  confined  to  the  many  and 
unnecessary  ones  with  which  Mr.  Deane  burthened  and  dis- 
tracted the  army.  If  he  acquired  any  part  of  his  popularity 
in  France  by  this  means  he  made  the  continent  pay  smartly 
for  it.  Many  thousand  pounds  it  cost  America,  and  that  in 
money  totally  sunk,  on  account  of  Mr.  Deane's  injudicious 
contracts,  and  what  renders  it  the  more  unpardonable  is, 
that  by  the  instructions  he  took  with  him,  he  was  restricted 
from  making  them,  and  consequently  by  having  no  authority 
had  an  easy  answer  to  give  to  solicitations.  It  was  Doctor 
Franklin's  answer  as  soon  as  he  arrived  and  might  have  been 
Mr.  Deane's.  Gentlemen  of  science  or  literature  or  convers- 
ant with  the  polite  or  useful  arts,  will,  I  presume,  always  find 
a  welcome  reception  in  America,  at  least  with  persons  of  a 
liberal  cast,  and  with  the  bulk  of  the  people. 

In  speaking  of  Mr.  Deane's  contracts  with  foreign  officers, 
I  concealed  out  of  pitj^  to  him  a  circumstance  that  must 
have  sufficiently  shewn  the  necessity  of  recalling  him,  and, 
either  his  great  want  of  judgment,  or  the  danger  of  trusting 
him  with  discretionary  power.  It  is  no  less  than  that  of  his 
throwing  out  a  proposal,  in  one  of  his  last  foreign  letters,  for 
contracting  with  a  German  prince  '  to  command  the  American 

'  Prince  Ferdinand  of  Bruns\vicl<,  brother-in-law  of  George  III.  In  Donne's 
"Correspondence  of  George  III.  with  Lord  Nortli  "  (ii.,  p.  Il6),  a  letter  of  the 
king  shows  that  Prince  Ferdinand  had  actually  received  such  a  proposal. — Editor. 


1779]     TO  THE  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE'S  AFFAIR.  429 


Army.  For  my  own  part  I  was  no  ways  surprised  when  I 
read  it,  though  I  presume  almost  every  body  else  will  be  so 
when  they  hear  it,  and  I  think  when  he  got  to  this  length,  it 
was  time  to  saddle  him. 

Mr.  Deane  was  directed  by  the  Committee  which  em- 
ployed him  to  engage  four  able  engineers  in  France,  and 
beyond  this  he  had  neither  authority  nor  commission.  But 
disregarding  his  instructions  (a  fault  criminal  in  a  negociator) 
he  proceeded  through  the  several  degrees  of  subalterns,  to 
Captains,  Majors,  Lieutenant  Colonels,  Colonels,  Brigadier 
Generals  and  at  last  to  Major  Generals ;  he  fixed  their  rank, 
regulated  their  command,  and  on  some,  I  believe,  he  be- 
stowed a  pension.  At  this  stage,  I  set  him  down  for  a 
Commander  in  Chief,  and  his  next  letter  proved  me 
prophetic.  Mr.  Plain  Truth,  in  the  course  of  his  numerous 
encomiums  on  Mr.  Deane,  says,  that — 

"  The  letter  of  the  Count  de  Vergennes,  written  by  order  of  his 
Most  Christian  Majesty  to  Congress,  speaking  of  Mr.  Deane  in 
the  most  honorable  manner,  and  the  letter  from  that  Minister  in 
his  own  character,  written  not  in  the  language  of  a  courtier,  but 
in  that  of  a  person  who  felt  what  he  expressed,  would  be  suffi- 
cient to  counterbalance,  not  only  the  opinions  of  the  writer  of 
the  address  to  Mr.  Deane,  but  even  of  characters  of  more  influ- 
ence, who  may  vainly  endeavor  to  circulate  notions  of  his 
insignificancy  and  unfitness  for  a  public  minister." 

The  supreme  authority  of  one  country,  however  different 
may  be  its  mode,  will  ever  pay  a  just  regard  to  that  of  an- 
other, more  especially  when  in  alliance.  But  those  letters 
can  extend  no  further  than  to  such  parts  of  Mr.  Deane's  con- 
duct as  came  under  the  immediate  notice  of  the  Court  as  a 
public  Minister,  or  a  political  agent ;  and  cannot  be  supposed 
to  interfere  with  such  other  parts  as  might  be  disapproved 
in  him  here  as  a  Contractor  or  a  Commercial  Agent,  and  can 
in  no  place  be  applied  as  an  extenuation  of  any  imprudence 
of  his  either  there  or  since  his  return ;  besides  which,  letters 
of  this  kind,  are  as  much  intended  to  compliment  the  power 
that  employs,  as  the  person  employed  ;  and  upon  the  whole. 


430  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i779 


I  fear  Mr.  Deane  has  presumed  too  much  upon  the  polite 
friendship  of  that  nation,  and  engrossed  to  himself,  a  regard, 
that  was  partly  intended  to  express,  through  him,  an  afJection 
to  the  continent. 

Mr.  Deane  should  likewise  recollect  that  the  early  appear- 
ance of  any  gentleman  from  America,  was  a  circumstance,  so 
agreeable  to  the  nation,  he  had  the  honor  of  appearing  at, 
that  he  must  have  managed  unwisely  indeed  to  have  avoided 
popularity.    For  as  the  poet  says, 

"  Fame  then  was  cheapo  and  the  first  comers  sped." 

The  last  line  of  the  couplet  is  not  applicable 

"  Which  they  have  since  preserved  by  being  dead  " 

From  the  pathetic  manner  in  which  Mr.  Deane  speaks  of 
his  '■'■sufferings'"  and  the  little  concern  he  seems  to  have  of 
ours,  it  may  not  be  improper  to  inform  him,  that  there  is 
kept  in  this  city  a  "  Book  of  Sufferings^  into  which,  by  the 
assistance  of  some  of  his  connections,  he  may  probably  get 
them  registered.'  I  have  not  interest  enough  myself  to  afford 
him  any  service  in  this  particular,  though  I  am  a  friend  to 
all  religions,  and  no  personal  enemy  to  those  who  may,  in 
this  place,  suppose  themselves  alluded  to. 

I  can  likewise  explain  to  Mr.  Deane,  the  reason  of  one  of 
his  sufferings  which  I  know  he  has  complained  of.  After  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  was  passed,  Mr.  Deane  thought 
it  a  great  hardship  that  he  was  not  authorized  to  announce 
it  in  form  to  the  Court  of  France,  and  this  circumstance  has 
been  mentioned  as  a  seeming  inattention  in  Congress.  The 
reason  of  it  was  this,  and  I  mention  it  from  my  own  knowl- 
edge. Mr.  Deane  was  at  that  time  only  a  Commercial  Agent, 
without  any  Commission  from  Congress,  and  consequently 
could  not  appear  at  Court  with  the  rank  suitable  to  the  for- 

'  Some  of  the  Quakers  who  opposed  the  Revolution,  but  whose  peace-princi- 
ples did  not  prevent  their  giving  assistance  to  the  enemy,  so  that  they  had 
to  be  dealt  with,  kept  a  "  Book  of  Sufferings."  Those  interested  may  find 
something  on  the  subject,  though  not  much,  in  a  brief  "  Memoir  of  John  Pem- 
berton,"  issued  by  the  Quakers. — Editor. 


1779]     '^O  THE  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE'S  AFFAIR.        43 1 


mality  of  such  an  occasion.  A  new  commission  was  there- 
fore necessary  to  be  issued  by  Congress,  and  that  honour  was 
purposely  reserved  for  Doctor  Franklin,  whose  long  services 
in  the  world,  and  established  reputation  in  Europe,  rendered 
him  the  fittest  person  in  America  to  execute  such  a  great  and 
original  design  ;  and  it  was  likewise  paying  a  just  attention 
to  the  honour  of  France  by  sending  so  able  and  extraordinary 
a  character  to  announce  the  Declaration. 

Mr.  Plain  Truth,  who  sticks  at  nothing  to  carry  Mr.  Deane 
through  everything  thick  or  thin,  says  : 

"  It  may  not  be  improper  to  remark  that  when  he  (Mr. 
Deane)  arrived  in  France,  the  opinion  of  people  there,  and  in 
the  different  parts  of  Europe,  not  only  with  respect  to  the  merits, 
but  the  probable  issue  of  the  Contest,  had  by  no  means  acquired 
that  consistency  which  they  had  at  the  time  of  Dr.  Franklin's 
and  Mr,  Arthur  Lee's  arrival  in  that  Kingdom." 

Mr.  Plain  Truth  is  not  a  bad  historian.  For  it  was  the 
fate  of  Dr,  Franklin  and  Mr.  Lee  to  arrive  in  France  at  the 
very  worst  of  times.  Their  first  appearance  there  was 
followed  by  a  long  series  of  ill  fortune  on  our  side.  Doctor 
Franklin  went  from  America  in  October,  1776,  at  which  time 
our  afTairs  were  taking  a  wrong  turn.  The  loss  on  Long 
Island,  and  the  evacuation  of  New  York  happened  before 
he  went,  and  all  the  succeeding  retreats  and  misfortunes 
through  the  course  of  that  year,  till  the  scale  was  again 
turned  by  taking  the  Hessians  at  Trenton  on  the  26th  day 
of  December,  followed  day  by  day  after  him.  And  I  have 
been  informed  by  a  gentleman  from  France,  that  the  philo- 
sophical ease  and  cheerful  fortitude,  with  which  Dr.  Franklin 
heard  of  or  announced  those  tidings,  contributed  greatly 
towards  lessening  the  real  weight  of  them  on  the  minds  of 
the  Europeans. 

Mr.  Deane  speaking  of  himself  in  his  address  says,  "  While 
it  was  safe  to  be  silent  my  lips  were  closed.  Necessity  hath 
opened  them  and  necessity  must  excuse  this  effort  to  serve, 
by  informing  you."  After  which  he  goes  on  with  his  ad- 
dress.   In  this  paragraph  there  is  an  insinuation  thrown  out 


432 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


by  Mr.  Deane  that  some  treason  was  on  foot,  which  he  had 
happily  discovered,  and  which  his  duty  to  his  country 
compelled  him  to  reveal.  The  public  had  a  right  to  be 
alarmed,  and  the  alarm  was  carefully  kept  by  those  who 
at  first  contrived  it.  Now,  if  after  this,  Mr.  Deane  has 
nothing  to  inform  them  of,  he  must  sink  into  nothing. 
When  a  public  man  stakes  his  reputation  in  this  manner,  he 
likewise  stakes  all  his  future  credit  on  the  performance  of  his 
obligation. 

I  am  not  writing  to  defend  Mr.  Arthur  or  Mr.  William 
Lee,  I  leave  their  conduct  to  defend  itself ;  and  I  would 
with  as  much  freedom  make  an  attack  on  either  of  these 
gentlemen,  if  there  was  a  public  necessity  for  it,  as  on  Mr. 
Deane.  In  my  address  I  mentioned  Colonel  R.  H.  Lee  with 
some  testimony  of  honourable  respect,  because  I  am  person- 
ally acquainted  with  that  gentleman's  integrity  and  abilities 
as  a  public  man,  and  in  the  circle  of  my  acquaintance  I  know 
but  few  that  have  equalled,  and  none  that  have  exceeded 
him,  particularly  in  his  ardor  to  bring  foreign  affairs,  and 
more  especially  the  present  happy  alliance,  to  an  issue. 

I  heard  it  mentioned  of  this  gentleman,  that  he  was 
among  those,  whose  impatience  for  victory  led  them  into 
some  kind  of  discontent  at  the  operations  of  last  Winter. 
The  event  has,  I  think,  fully  proved  those  gentlemen  wrong, 
and  must  convince  them  of  it ;  but  I  can  see  no  reason  why 
a  misgrounded  opinion,  produced  by  an  overheated  anxiety 
for  success,  should  be  mixed  up  with  other  matters  it  has  no 
concern  with.  A  man's  political  abilities  may  be  exceed- 
ingly good,  though  at  the  same  time  he  may  differ,  and  even 
be  wrong,  in  his  notions  of  some  military  particulars. 

Mr.  Deane  says  that  Mr.  Arthur  Lee  was  dragged  into  a 
Treaty  with  the  utmost  reluctance,  a  charge  which  if  he 
cannot  support,  he  must  expect  to  answer  for.  I  am  ac- 
quainted that  Mr.  Lee  had  some  objection  against  the  con- 
structions of  a  particular  article  [i2th],  which,  I  think,  shews 
his  judgment,  and  whenever  they  can  be  known  will  do  him 
honor ;  but  his  general  opinion  of  that  valuable  transaction 
I  shall  give  in  his  own  words  from  a  letter  in  my  hands. 


1779]  ^^^^  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE'S  AFFAIR.  433 


"  France  has  done  us  substantial  benefits,  Great  Britain  sub- 
stantial injuries.  France  offers  to  guarantee  our  sovereignty,  and 
universal  freedom  of  commerce.  Great  Britain  condescends  to 
accept  our  submission  and  to  monopolize  our  commerce.  France 
demands  of  us  to  be  independent.  Great  Britain  tributary.  I  do 
not  conceive  how  there  can  be  a  mind  so  debased,  or  an  under- 
standing so  perverted,  as  to  balance  between  them. 

"  The  journies  I  have  made  north  and  south  in  the  public  ser- 
vice, have  given  me  opportunities  of  knowing  the  general  disposi- 
tion of  Europe  on  our  question.  There  never  was  one  in  which 
the  harmony  of  opinion  was  so  universal.  From  the  Prince  to 
the  peasant  there  is  but  one  voice,  one  wish,  the  liberty  of 
America  and  the  humiliation  of  Great  Britain." 

If  Mr.  Deane  was  industrious  to  spread  reports  to  the 
injury  of  these  gentlemen  in  Europe,  as  he  has  been  in 
America,  no  wonder  that  their  real  characters  have  been 
misunderstood.  The  peculiar  talent  which  Mr.  Deane  pos- 
sesses of  attacking  persons  behind  their  backs,  has  so  near  a 
resemblance  to  the  author  of  Plain  Truth,  who  after  promis- 
ing his  name  to  the  public  has  declined  to  give  it,  and  some 
other  proceedings  I  am  not  unacquainted  with,  particularly 
an  attempt  to  prevent  my  publications,  that  it  looks  as  if  one 
spirit  of  private  malevolence  governed  the  whole. 

Mr.  Plain  Truth  has  renewed  the  story  of  Dr.  Birkenhout, 
to  which  I  have  but  one  reply  to  make :  why  did  not  Mr. 
Deane  appear  against  him  while  he  was  here?  He  was  the 
only  person  who  knew  anything  of  him,  and  his  neglecting 
to  give  information,  and  thereby  suffering  a  suspicious  per- 
son to  escape  for  want  of  proof,  is  a  story  very  much  against 
Mr.  Deane  ;  and  his  complaining  after  the  man  was  gone 
corresponds  with  the  rest  of  his  conduct. 

When  little  circumstances  are  so  easily  dwelt  upon,  it  is  a 
sign,  not  only  of  the  want  of  great  ones,  but  of  weakness 
and  ill  will.  The  crime  against  Mr.  William  Lee  is,  that 
some  years  ago  he  was  elected  an  Alderman  of  one  of  the 
wards  in  London,  and  the  English  Calender  has  yet  printed 
him  with  the  same  title.  Is  that  any  fault  of  his  ?  Or  can 
he  be  made  accountable  for  what  the  people  of  London  may 

VOL.  I. — 28 


434 


THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE. 


do?  Let  us  distinguish  between  whiggishness  and  waspish- 
ness,  between  patriotism  and  peevishness,  otherwise  we  shall 
become  the  laughing  stock  of  every  sensible  and  candid 
mind.  Suppose  the  Londoners  should  take  it  into  their 
heads  to  elect  the  President  of  Congress  or  General  Wash- 
ington an  Alderman,  is  that  a  reason  why  we  should  displace 
them  ?  But,  Mr.  Lee,  say  they,  has  not  resigned.  These 
men  have  no  judgment,  or  they  would  not  advance  such 
positions.  Mr.  Lee  has  nothing  to  resign.  He  has  vacated 
his  Aldermanship  by  accepting  an  appointment  under  Con- 
gress, and  can  know  nothing  further  of  the  matter.  Were 
he  to  make  a  formal  resignation  it  would  imply  his  being  a 
subject  of  Great  Britain  ;  besides  which,  the  character  of 
being  an  Ambassador  from  the  States  of  America,  is  so  supe- 
rior to  that  of  any  Alderman  of  London,  that  I  conceive  Mr. 
Deane,  or  Mr.  Plain  Truth,  or  any  other  person,  as  doing  a 
great  injustice  to  the  dignity  of  America  by  attempting  to 
put  the  two  in  any  disputable  competition.  Let  us  be 
honest  lest  we  be  despised,  and  generous  lest  we  be 
laughed  at. 

Mr.  Deane  in  his  address  of  the  5th  of  December,  says, 
"  having  thus  introduced  you  to  your  great  servants,  I  now 
proceed  to  make  you  acquainted  with  some  other  person- 
ages, which  it  may  be  of  consequence  for  you  to  know.  I 
am  sorry  to  say,  that  Arthur  Lee,  Esq.,  was  suspected  by 
some  of  the  best  friends  you  had  abroad,  and  those  in  im- 
portant characters  and  stations."  To  which  I  reply,  that  I 
firmly  believe  Mr.  Deane  will  likewise  be  sorry  he  has  said 
it.  Mr.  Deane  after  thus  advancing  a  charge  endeavours  to 
paliate  it  by  saying,  "  these  suspicions,  whether  well  or  ill 
founded,  were  frequently  urged  to  Dr.  Franklin  and  myself." 
But  Mr.  Deane  ought  to  have  been  certain  that  they  were 
well  founded,  before  he  made  such  a  publication,  for  if  they 
are  not  well  founded  he  must  appear  with  great  discredit, 
and  it  is  now  his  duty  to  accuse  Mr.  Arthur  Lee  legally,  and 
support  the  accusation  with  sufficient  proofs.  Characters 
are  tender  and  valuable  things ;  they  are  more  than  life  to  a 
man  of  sensibility,  and  are  not  to  be  made  the  sport  of 


1779]     TO  THE  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE'S  AFFAIR.  435 


interest,  or  the  sacrifice  of  incendiary  malice.  Mr.  Lee  is  an 
absent  gentleman,  I  believe  too,  an  honest  one,  and  my 
motive  for  publishing  this,  is  not  to  gratify  any  party,  or 
any  person,  but  as  an  act  of  social  duty  which  one  man  owes 
to  another,  and  which,  I  hope,  will  be  done  to  me  whenever 
I  shall  be  accused  ungenerously  behind  my  back. 

Mr.  Lee  to  my  knowledge  has  far  excelled  Mr.  Deane  in 
the  usefulness  of  his  information,  respecting  the  political 
and  military  designs  of  the  Court  of  London.  While  in 
London  he  conveyed  intelligence  that  was  dangerous  to  his 
personal  safety.  Many  will  remember  the  instance  of  the 
rifle  man  who  had  been  carried  prisoner  to  England  alone 
three  years  ago,  and  who  afterwards  returned  from  thence 
to  America,  and  brought  with  him  a  letter  concealed  in  a 
button.  That  letter  was  from  this  gentleman,  and  the  public 
will,  I  believe,  conclude,  that  the  hazard  Mr.  Lee  exposed 
himself  to,  in  giving  information  while  so  situated,  and  by 
such  means,  deserves  their  regard  and  thanks.  The  detail 
of  the  number  of  the  foreign  and  British  troops  for  the 
campaign  of  1776,  came  first  from  him,  as  did  likewise  the 
expedition  against  South  Carolina  and  Canada,  and  among 
other  accounts  of  his,  that  the  English  emissaries  at  Paris 
had  boasted  that  the  British  Ministry  had  sent  over  half  a 
million  of  guineas  to  corrupt  the  Congress.  This  money, 
should  they  be  fools  enough  to  send  it,  will  be  very  ineffect- 
ually attempted  or  bestowed,  for  repeated  instances  have 
shewn  that  the  moment  any  man  steps  aside  from  the  public 
interest  of  America,  he  becomes  despised,  and  if  in  office, 
superceeded. 

Mr.  Deane  says,  "  that  Dr.  Birkenhout,  when  he  returned 
to  New  York,  ventured  to  assure  the  British  Commissioners, 
that  by  the  alliance  with  France,  America  was  at  liberty  to 
make  peace  without  consulting  her  ally,  unless  England  de- 
clared War."  What  is  it  to  us  what  Dr.  Birkenhout  said,  or 
how  came  Mr.  Deane  to  know  what  passed  between  him  and 
the  British  Commissioners?  But  I  ask  Mr.  Deane's  pardon, 
he  has  told  us  how.  "  Providence,  (says  he)  in  whom  we 
put  our  trust,  jcnfolded  it  to  me."    But  Mr.  Deane  says,  that 


436  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  Ll779 


Col.  R.  H.  Lee,  pertinaciously  maintained  the  same  doc- 
trine. The  treaty  of  alliance  will  neither  admit  of  debate 
nor  any  equivocal  explanation.  Had  war  not  broke  out,  or 
Jiad  not  Great  Britain,  in  resc7itnient  to  that  alliance  or  con- 
nection, and  of  the  good  correspondence  which  is  the  object 
of  the  said  treaty,  broke  the  peace  zvith  France,  either 
by  direct  hostilities  or  by  hindering  her  coimnerce 
and  navigation  in  a  manner  contrary  to  the  rights  of  nations, 
and  the  peace  subsisting  at  that  time,  between  the  two  Crowns, 
— in  this  case,  I  likewise  say,  that  America,  as  a  matter  of 
riglit,  could  have  made  a  peace  without  consulting  her  ally, 
though  the  civil  obligations  of  mutual  esteem  and  friend- 
ship would  have  required  such  a  consultation.  But  war  has 
broke  out,  though  not  declared,  for  the  first  article  in  the 
treaty  of  alliance  is  confined  to  the  breaking  out  of  war,  and 
not  to  its  declaration.  Hostilities  have  been  commenced ; 
therefore  the  first  case  is  superseded,  and  the  eighth  article 
of  the  treaty  of  alliance  has  its  full  intentional  force : 
'■^Article  8. — Neither  of  the  two  parties  shall  conclude  either 
truce  or  peace  without  the  formal  consent  of  the  other  first 
obtained,  and  they  mutually  engage  not  to  lay  down  their 
arms  until  the  independence  of  the  United  States,  shall  have 
been  formally  or  tacitly  assured,  by  the  treaty  or  treaties 
that  shall  terminate  that  war." 

What  Mr.  Deane  means  by  this  affected  appearance  of  his, 
both  personally  and  in  print,  I  am  quite  at  a  loss  to  under- 
stand. He  seems  to  conduct  himself  here  in  a  stile,  that 
would  more  properly  become  the  secretary  to  a  foreign  em- 
bassy, than  that  of  an  American  Minister  returned  from  his 
charge.  He  appears  to  be  everybody's  servant  but  ours,  and 
for  that  reason  can  never  be  the  proper  person  to  execute 
any  commission,  or  possess  our  confidence.  Among  the 
number  of  his  ''sufferings  "  I  am  told  that  he  returned  bur- 
thened  with  forty  changes  of  silk,  velvet,  and  other  dresses. 
Perhaps  this  was  the  reason  he  could  not  bring  his  papers. 

Mr.  Deane  says,  that  William  Lee  Esq :  gives  five  per 
cent  commission,  and  receives  a  share  of  it,  for  what  was 
formerly  done  for  two  per  cent.    That  matter  requires  to  be 


1779]     '^''^  ^^^^  PUBLIC  ON  MR.  DEANE'S  AFFAIR.  437 


cleared  up  and  explained  ;  for  it  is  not  the  quantity  per  cent, 
but  the  purposes  to  which  it  is  applied  that  makes  it  right  or 
wrong  ;  besides  which,  the  whole  matter,  like  many  other  of 
Mr.  Deane's  charges,  may  be  groundless. 

I  here  take  my  leave  of  this  gentleman,  wishing  him  more 
discretion,  candour  and  generosity. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  address  I  informed  the  public, 
that  "  whatever  I  should  conceive  necessary  to  say  of  myself, 
would  appear  in  the  conclusion."  I  chose  that  mode  of 
arrangement,  lest  by  explaining  my  own  situation  first,  the 
public  might  be  induced  to  pay  a  greater  regard  to  what  I 
had  to  say  against  Mr.  Deane,  than  was  necessary  they 
should  ;  whereas  it  was  my  wish  to  give  Mr.  Deane  every 
advantage,  by  letting  what  I  had  to  advance  come  from  me, 
while  I  laid  under  the  disadvantage  of  having  the  motives  of 
my  conduct  mistaken  by  the  public.  Mr.  Deane  and  his  ad- 
herents have  apparently  deserted  the  field  they  first  took 
possession  of  and  seemed  to  triumph  in.  They  made  their 
appeal  to  you,  yet  have  suffered  me  to  accuse  and  expose 
them  for  almost  three  weeks  past,  without  a  denial  or  a 
reply. 

I  do  not  blame  the  public  for  censuring  me  while  they, 
though  wrongfully,  supposed  I  deserved  it.  When  they  see 
their  mistake,  I  have  no  doubt,  but  they  will  honor  me  with 
that  regard  of  theirs  which  I  before  enjoyed.  And  consid- 
ering how  much  I  have  been  misrepresented,  I  hope  it  will 
not  now  appear  ostentatious  in  me,  if  I  set  forth  what  has 
been  my  conduct,  ever  since  the  first  publication  of  the 
pamphlet  Common  Sense  down  to  this  day,  on  which,  and 
on  account  of  my  reply  to  Mr.  Deane,  and  in  order  to  im- 
port the  liberty  of  the  press,  and  my  right  as  a  freeman,  I 
have  been  obliged  to  resign  my  office  of  Secretary  for  for- 
eign affairs,  which  I  held  under  Congress.  But  this,  in  order 
to  be  compleat,  will  be  published  in  the  Crisis  No  8,  of  which 
notice  will  be  given  in  the  papers. 

Common  Sense. 


Philadelphia,  January  8,  1779. 


XXIV. 


MESSRS.  DEANE,  JAY,  AND  GERARD.' 
Mr.  Dunlap, 

In  your  paper  of  August  31st  was  published  an  extract  of 
a  letter  from  Paris,  dated  May  the  21st,  in  which  the  writer, 
among  other  things,  says  : 

"  It  is  long  since  I  felt  in  common  with  every  other  well-wisher 
to  the  cause  of  liberty  and  truth,  the  obligations  I  was  under  to 
the  author  of  Common  Sense,  for  the  able  and  unanswerable  man- 
ner in  which  he  has  defended  those  principles.  The  same  public 
motives  I  am  persuaded  induced  him  to  address  the  public  against 
Mr.  Deane  and  his  associates.  The  countenance  and  support 
which  Deane  has  received  is  a  melancholy  presage  of  the  future. 
Vain,  assuming,  avaricious  and  unprincipled,  he  will  stick  at  no 
crime  to  cover  what  he  has  committed  and  continue  his  career. 

"  The  impunity  with  which  Deane  has  traduced  and  calumni- 
ated Congress  to  their  face,  the  indulgence  and  even  countenance 
he  has  received,  the  acrimonious  and  uncandid  spirit  of  a  letter 
containing  Mr.  Paine's  publications  which  accompanied  a  resolve 
sent  to  Mr.  Gerard,  are  matters  of  deep  concern  here  to  every 
friend  to  America." 

By  way  of  explaining  the  particular  letter  referred  to  in 
the  above,  the  following  note  was  added  : 

'  From  the  Pennsylvania  Packet  of  September  14,  1779.  The  French 
Minister,  Gerard,  who  was  interested  in  the  Deane-Beaumarchais  claims  (though 
Paine  did  not  know  it)  complained  to  Congress  of  Paine's  disclosures.  Paine 
resigned  his  secretaryship,  and  the  President  of  Congress,  Jay,  wrote  an  effusive 
and  apologetic  letter  to  Gerard.  Congress  knevv  that  Paine  had  written  only 
what  was  true,  but  after  the  French  Minister's  complaint  were  "  obliged," 
as  Hon.  Gouverneur  Morris  said,  "to  act  as  if  they  believed"  otherwise. — 
Editor. 


438 


1 7791  Jt/£SSJ?S.  DEANE,  JAY  AND  GERARD. 


439 


"  The  letter  here  alluded  to  can  be  no  other  than  that  signed 
'' yohn  Jay,'  dated  January  13th,  and  published  in  Mr.  Dunlap's 
paper  of  Jan.  i6th.  It  is  very  extraordinary  that  Mr.  Jay  should 
write  such  a  letter,  because  it  contains  the  same  illiberal  reflec- 
tions which  Congress,  as  a  Body,  had  rejected  from  their  resolve 
of  January  12,  as  may  be  seen  by  any  one  who  will  peruse  the 
proceedings  of  January  last.  Congress  has  since  declined  to  give 
countenance  to  Mr.  Jay's  letter  ;  for  tho'  he  had  a  public  authority 
for  writing  a  letter  to  Mr.  Gerard,  he  had  no  authority  for  the  re- 
flections he  used  ;  besides  which,  the  letter  would  be  perfectly 
laughable  were  every  circumstance  known  which  happened  at  that 
particular  time,  and  would  likewise  show  how  exceedingly  deli- 
cate and  cautious  a  President  ought  to  be  when  he  means  to  act 
officially  in  cases  he  is  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with." 

Every  person  will  perceive  that  the  note  which  explains 
the  letter  referred  to,  is  not  a  part  of  the  letter  from  Paris, 
but  is  added  by  another  person  ;  and  Mr.  Jay,  or  any  other 
Gentleman,  is  welcome  to  know  that  the  note  is  in  my  writ- 
ing, and  that  the  original  letter  from  Paris  is  now  in  my 
possession.  I  had  sufficient  authority  for  the  expressions 
used  in  the  note.  Mr.  Jay  did  not  lay  his  letter  to  Mr. 
Gerard  before  Congress  previous  to  his  sending  it,  and  there- 
fore, tho'  he  had  their  order,  he  had  not  their  approbation. 
They,  it  is  true,  ordered  it  to  be  published,  but  there  is  no 
vote  for  approving  it,  neither  have  they  given  it  a  place  in 
their  Journals,  nor  was  it  published  in  any  more  than  one 
paper  in  this  city  (Benjamin  Towne's),  tho'  there  were  at 
that  time  two  others.  Some  time  after  Mr.  Jay's  letter  ap- 
peared in  the  paper,  I  addressed  another  to  Congress,  com- 
plaining of  the  unjust  liberty  he  had  taken,  and  desired  to 
know  whether  I  was  to  consider  the  expressions  used  in  his 
letter  as  containing  their  sentiments,  at  the  same  time  in- 
forming them,  that  if  they  declined  to  prove  what  he  had 
written,  I  should  consider  their  silence  as  a  disapprobation 
of  it.  Congress  chose  to  be  silent ;  and  consequently,  have 
left  Mr.  Jay  to  father  his  own  expressions. 

I  took  no  other  notice  of  Mr.  Jay's  letter  at  the  time  it 
was  published,  being  fully  persuaded  that  when  any  man 


440  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [1779 


recollected  the  part  I  had  acted,  not  only  at  the  first  but  in 
the  worst  of  times,  he  could  but  look  on  Mr.  Jay's  letter  to 
be  groundless  and  ungrateful,  and  the  more  so,  because  if 
America  had  had  no  better  friends  than  himself  to  bring 
about  independance,  I  fully  believe  she  would  never  have 
succeeded  in  it,  and  in  all  probability  been  a  ruined,  con- 
quered and  tributary  country. 

Let  any  man  look  at  the  position  America  was  in  at  the 
time  I  first  took  up  the  subject,  and  published  Common 
Sense,  which  was  but  a  few  months  before  the  declaration  of 
Independance  ;  an  army  of  thirty  thousand  men  coming  out 
against  her,  besides  those  which  were  already  here,  and  she 
without  either  an  object  or  a  system  ;  fighting,  she  scarcely 
knew  for  what,  and  which,  if  she  could  have  obtained,  would 
have  done  her  no  good.  She  had  not  a  day  to  spare  in 
bringing  about  the  only  thing  which  could  save  her.  A 
Revolution,  yet  no  one  measure  Avas  taken  to  promote  it, 
and  many  were  used  to  prevent  it ;  and  had  independance 
not  been  declared  at  the  time  it  was,  I  cannot  see  any  time 
in  which  it  could  have  been  declared,  as  the  train  of  ill-suc- 
cesses which  followed  the  affair  of  Long  Island  left  no  future 
opportunity. 

Had  I  been  disposed  to  have  made  money,  I  undoubtedly 
had  many  opportunities  for  it.  The  single  pamphlet  Common 
Sense,  would  at  that  time  of  day,  have  produced  a  tolerable 
fortune,  had  I  only  taken  the  same  profits  from  the  publica- 
tion which  all  writers  had  ever  done,  because  the  sale  was 
the  most  rapid  and  extensive  of  any  thing  that  was  ever 
published  in  this  country,  or  perhaps  any  other.  Instead  of 
which  I  reduced  the  price  so  low,  that  instead  of  getting,  I 
yet  stand  thirty-nine  pounds  eleven  shillings  out  of  pocket 
on  Mr.  Bradford's  books,  exclusive  of  my  time  and  trouble, 
and  I  have  acted  the  same  disinterested  part  by  every  publi- 
cation I  have  made.  I  could  have  mentioned  those  things 
long  ago,  had  I  chosen,  but  I  mention  them  now  to  make 
Mr.  Jay  feel  his  ingratitude. 

In  the  Pennsylvania  Packet  of  last  Tuesday  some  person 
has  republished  Mr.  Jay's  letter,  and  Mr.  Gerard's  answer  of 


1779] 


MESSA'S.  DEANE,  J  A  V,  AND  GERARD. 


441 


the  13th  and  14th  January  last,  and  though  I  was  patiently 
silent  upon  their  first  publication,  I  now  think  it  necessary, 
since  they  are  republished,  to  give  some  circumstances  which 
ought  to  go  with  them. 

At  the  time  the  dispute  arose,  respecting  Mr.  Deane's 
affairs,  I  had  a  conference  with  Mr.  Gerard  at  his  own  re- 
quest, and  some  matters  on  that  subject  were  freely  talked 
over,  which  it  is  here  unnecessary  to  mention.  This  was  on 
the  2d  of  January. 

On  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  or  the  next,  Mr.  Gerard, 
thro'  the  mediation  of  another  gentleman,  made  me  a  very 
genteel  and  profitable  offer.  I  felt  at  once  the  respect  due 
to  his  friendship,  and  the  difificulties  which  my  acceptance 
would  subject  me  to.  My  whole  credit  was  staked  upon 
going  through  with  Deane's  affairs,  and  could  I  afterwards 
have  written  with  the  pen  of  an  Angel,  on  any  subject  what- 
ever, it  would  have  had  no  effect,  had  I  failed  in  that  or 
declined  proceeding  in  it.  Mr.  Deane's  name  was  not  men- 
tioned at  the  time  the  offer  was  made,  but  from  some  con- 
versation which  passed  at  the  time  of  the  interview,  I  had 
sufificient  reason  to  believe  that  some  restraint  had  been  laid 
on  that  Subject.  Besides  which  I  have  a  natural  inflexible 
objection  to  any  thing  which  may  be  construed  into  a  pri- 
vate pension,  because  a  man  after  that  is  no  longer  truly  free. 

My  answer  to  the  offer  was  precisely  in  these  words — 
"  Any  service  I  can  render  to  either  of  the  countries  in  alli- 
ance, or  to  both,  I  ever  have  done  and  shall  readily  do,  and 
Mr.  Gerard's  esteem  will  be  the  only  recompense  I  shall 
desire."  I  particularly  chose  the  word  esteem  because  it 
admitted  no  misunderstanding. 

On  the  fifth  of  January  I  published  a  continuation  of  my 
remarks  on  Mr.  Deane's  affairs,  and  I  have  ever  felt  the 
highest  respect  for  a  nation  which  has  in  every  stage  of  our 
affairs  been  our  firm  and  invariable  friend.  I  spoke  of  France 
under  that  general  description.  It  is  true  I  prosecuted  the 
point  against  Mr.  Deane,  but  what  was  Mr.  Deane  to 
France,  or  to  the  Minister  of  France  ? 

On  the  appearance  of  this  publication  Mr.  Gerard  presented 


442  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [i779 


a  Memorial  to  Congress  respecting  some  expressions  used 
therein,  and  on  the  6th  and  7th  I  requested  of  Congress  to 
be  admitted  to  explain  any  passages  which  Mr.  Gerard  had 
referred  to  ;  but  this  request  not  being  complied  with,  I,  on 
the  8th,  sent  in  my  resignations  of  the  office  of  Secretary  to 
the  Committee  of  Foreign  Affairs. 

In  the  evening  I  received  an  invitation  to  sup  with  a  gen- 
tleman, and  Mr.  Gerard's  offer  was,  by  his  own  authority, 
again  renewed  with  considerable  additions  of  advantage.  I 
gave  the  same  answer  as  before.  I  was  then  told  that  Mr. 
Gerard  was  very  ill,  and  desired  to  see  me.  I  replied,  "  That 
as  a  matter  was  then  depending  in  Congress  upon  a  repre- 
sentation of  Mr.  Gerard  against  some  parts  of  my  publica- 
tions, I  thought  it  indelicate  to  wait  on  him  till  that  was 
determined." 

In  a  few  days  after  I  received  a  second  invitation,  and  like- 
wise a  third,  to  sup  at  the  same  place,  in  both  of  which  the 
same  offer  and  the  same  invitation  were  renewed  and  the 
same  answers  on  my  part  were  given  :  But  being  repeatedly 
pressed  to  make  Mr.  Gerard  a  visit,  I  engaged  to  do  it  the 
next  morning  at  ten  o'clock:  but  as  I  considered  myself 
standing  on  a  nice  and  critical  ground,  and  lest  my  reputa- 
tion should  be  afterwards  called  in  question,  I  judged  it  best 
to  communicate  the  whole  matter  to  an  honorable  friend  be- 
fore I  went,  which  was  on  the  14th  of  January,  the  very  day 
on  which  Mr.  Gerard's  answer  to  Mr.  Jay's  letter  is  dated. 

While  with  Mr.  Gerard  I  avoided  as  much  as  possible  every 
occasion  that  might  give  rise  to  the  subject.  Himself  once 
or  twice  hinted  at  the  publications  and  added  that,  "  he  hoped 
no  more  would  be  said  on  the  subject,"  which  I  immediately 
waived  by  entering  on  the  loss  of  the  dispatches.  I  knew 
my  own  resolution  respecting  the  offer,  had  communicated 
that  resolution  to  a  friend,  and  did  not  wish  to  give  the  least 
pain  to  Mr.  Gerard,  by  personally  refusing  that,  which,  from 
him  might  be  friendship,  but  to  me  would  have  been  the  ruin 
of  my  credit.  At  a  convenient  opportunity  I  rose  to  take 
my  leave,  on  which  Mr.  Gerard  said  "  Mr.  Paine,  I  have 
always  had  a  great  respect  for  you,  and  should  be  glad  of 


1779]  MESSRS.  DEANE,  JAY,  AND  GERARD. 


443 


some  opportunity  of  shewing  you  more  solid  marks  of  my 
friendship." 

I  confess  I  felt  myself  hurt  and  exceedingly  concerned  that 
the  injustice  and  indiscretion  of  a  party  in  Congress  should 
drive  matters  to  such  an  extremity  that  one  side  or  other 
must  go  to  the  bottom,  and  in  its  consequences  embarrass 
those  whom  they  had  drawn  in  to  support  them.  I  am  con- 
scious that  America  had  not  in  France  a  more  strenuous  friend 
than  Mr.  Gerard,  and  I  sincerely  wish  he  had  found  a  way 
to  avoid  an  affair  which  has  been  much  trouble  to  him.  As 
for  Deane,  I  believe  him  to  be  a  man  who  cares  not  who  he 
involves  to  screen  himself.  He  has  forfeited  all  reputation 
in  this  Country,  first  by  promising  to  give  an  "  history  of 
matters  important  for  the  people  to  know  "  and  then  not  only 
failing  to  perform  that  promise,  but  neglecting  to  clear  his 
own  suspected  reputation,  though  he  is  now  on  the  spot  and 
can  any  day  demand  an  hearing  of  Congress,  and  call  me 
before  them  for  the  truth  of  what  I  have  published  respecting 
him. 

Two  days  after  my  visit  to  Mr.  Gerard,  Mr.  Jay's  letter 
and  the  answer  to  it  was  published,  and  I  would  candidly 
ask  any  man  how  it  is  possible  to  reconcile  such  letters  to 
such  offers  both  done  at  one  and  the  same  time,  and  whether 
I  had  not  sufficient  authority  to  say  that  Mr.  Jay's  letter 
would  be  truly  laughable,  were  all  the  circumstances  known 
which  happened  at  the  time  of  his  writing. 

Whoever  published  those  letters  in  last  Tuesday's  paper, 
must  be  an  idiot  or  worse.  I  had  let  them  pass  over  with- 
out any  other  public  notice  than  what  was  contained  in  the 
note  of  the  preceding  week,  but  the  republishing  them  was 
putting  me  to  defiance,  and  forcing  me  either  to  submit  to 
them  afresh,  or  to  give  the  circumstances  which  accom- 
panied them.  Whoever  will  look  back  to  last  Winter,  must 
see  I  had  my  hands  full,  and  that  without  any  person  giving 
the  least  assistance.  It  was  first  given  out  that  I  was  paid 
by  Congress  for  vindicating  their  reputation  against  Mr. 
Deane's  charges,  yet  a  majority  in  that  House  were  every 
day  pelting  me  for  what  I  was  doing.    Then  Mr.  Gerard 


444  THE   WRITINGS  OF  THOMAS  PAINE.  [^779 


was  unfortunately  brought  in,  and  Mr.  Jay's  letter  to  him 
and  his  answer  were  published  to  effect  some  purpose  or 
other.  Yet  Mr.  Gerard  was  at  the  same  time  making  the 
warmest  professions  of  friendship  to  me,  and  proposing  to 
take  me  into  his  confidence  with  very  liberal  offers.  In 
short  I  had  but  one  way  to  get  thro',  which  was  to  keep  close 
to  the  point  and  principle  I  set  out  upon,  and  that  alone  has 
rendered  me  successful.  By  making  this  my  guide  I  have 
kept  my  ground,  and  I  have  yet  ground  to  spare,  for  among 
other  things  I  have  authentic  copies  of  the  dispatches  that 
were  lost. 

I  am  certain  no  man  set  out  with  a  warmer  heart  or  a 
better  disposition  to  render  public  service  than  myself,  in 
everything  which  laid  in  my  power,'  My  first  endeavour 
was  to  put  the  politics  of  the  country  right,  and  to  show  the 
advantages  as  well  as  the  necessity  of  independance :  and 
until  this  was  done,  independance  never  could  have  suc- 
ceeded. America  did  not  at  that  time  understand  her  own 
situation ;  and  though  the  country  was  then  full  of  writers, 
no  one  reached  the  mark  ;  neither  did  I  abate  in  my  service, 
when  hundreds  were  afterwards  deserting  her  interest  and 
thousands  afraid  to  speak,  for  the  first  number  of  the  Crisis 
was  published  in  the  blackest  stage  of  affairs,  six  days  be- 
fore the  taking  the  Hessians  at  Trenton.  When  this  State 
was  distracted  by  parties  on  account  of  her  Constitution,  I 
endeavored  in  the  most  disinterested  manner  to  bring  it  to 
a  conclusion ;  and  when  Deane's  impositions  broke  out, 

'  A  heavy  reproach  does  indeed  rest  upon  the  Congress  and  its  president  for 
their  treatment  of  the  Secretary  who  saved  them  from  the  Beaumarchais-Gerard- 
Deane  imposition,  which,  had  it  succeeded,  would  have  crippled  the  means  of 
the  Revolution,  and  tended  to  defeat  the  object  of  the  supplies  sent  by  Louis 
XVI.  Paine  was  the  one  man  who  knew  as  much  about  Silas  Deane  as  George 
III.  did,  when  he  wrote  to  Lord  North  (March  3,  1781) :  "  I  think  it  perfectly 
right  that  Mr.  Deane  should  so  far  be  trusted  as  to  have  three  thousand  pounds 
for  America";  and  in  the  same  year  (July  19th):  "I  have  received  Lord 
North's  boxes  containing  the  intercepted  letters  of  Mr.  Deane  for  America.  I 
have  only  been  able  to  read  two  of  [them],  on  which  I  form  the  same  opinion 
of  too  much  appearance  of  being  connected  with  this  country,  and  therefore  not 
likely  to  have  the  effect  as  if  they  bore  another  aspect."  In  August  7th  the 
king  suggests  what  Deane  should  write  (Donne,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  380,  381.) — Editor. 


1779]  MESSJUS.  DEANE,  JAY,  AND  GERARD. 


445 


and  threw  the  whole  States  into  confusion,  I  readily  took 
up  the  subject,  for  no  one  else  understood  it,  and  the  coun- 
try now  see  that  I  was  right.  And  if  Mr.  Jay  thinks  he 
derives  any  credit  from  his  letter  to  Mr.  Gerard,  he  will  find 
himself  deceived,  and  that  the  ingratitude  of  the  composi- 
tion will  be  his  reproach  not  mine. 

Common  Sense. 


END  OF  VOLUME  I. 


Date  Due 


(l) 



